Injured Twin Peaks Tunnel worker dies

A construction worker at the site of the Twin Peaks Tunnel project in San Francisco has died, Mayor London Breed said in a statement on Saturday.

The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency reported the worker was injured by a temporary steel beam that fell and pinned the worker at the construction site on Friday around 4:30 p.m. The worker was taken to the trauma center at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital where he died of his injuries.

Breed said in a statement:

“We are saddened to hear about the passing of a signal technician who was working in the Twin Peaks Tunnel yesterday evening. Our sincerest condolences are with his family, friends, and colleagues at this time. This is a tragic incident and I want to commend the Twin Peaks Tunnel laborers who quickly sprang into action to help their colleague.”

Breed added:

“We are treating this matter seriously and immediately alerted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the San Francisco Police Department to conduct a full investigation so we can better understand what transpired. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency has stopped work on the project at this time.”

SFMTA officials said immediately after the incident on Friday, work was suspended at the construction site so the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the Police Department could conduct their investigation into incident.

The transit agency deemed the work site safe after receiving clearance from CalOSHA, SFPD and upon further review from the SFMTA’s safety team and contractor late Friday evening.

Ed Reiskin, SFMTA director of transportation, said in a statement:

“We have taken extra precaution to ensure the tunnel is safe before returning workers to the project. We feel confident that the contractor, under the SFMTA’s oversight, has done everything possible to ensure construction can proceed safely.”

Grief counseling will be made available at the construction site, SFMTA officials said.

Crews are working inside the 100-year old tunnel to replace rail, making improvements to the drainage system and seismically upgrading the infrastructure inside the tunnel from West Portal Station to the abandoned Eureka Valley portal.