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2 paving crew workers killed in rollover on northern Alberta construction site

By Karen Bartko Global News

Posted July 26, 2016 8:44 am

Updated July 26, 2016 6:08 pm

1 min read

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A fatal collision on Highway 672 and Range Road 81 on July 25, 2016. Courtesy: William Vavrek

Two workers on a paving crew were killed on the job Monday morning in northwestern Alberta.

Beaverlodge RCMP were called around 11:30 a.m. to a rural secondary highway about 32 kilometres northwest of Grande Prairie, where a large asphalt reclaiming machine had rolled into the ditch with two men inside. Police arrived on scene to find the reclaimer on its roof.

STARS air ambulance was called to rollover but was stood down by EMS, who pronounced the workers dead on scene.

The men were part of a Lafarge paving crew. The company released a statement, which said in part:

There was a fatal accident involving two of our employees doing paving work in the Grande Prairie area [on Monday.] Details are not clear at this time. We are cooperating fully with authorities in their investigation. We are in shock and are extremely concerned about the impact to these individuals’ family and friends.

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Road reclaimers are used to pulverize the top asphalt layer and mix it with the underlying base to stabilize deteriorated roadways. It was requested that cranes be brought in to lift the tipped piece of machinery.

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The crash happened on Highway 672 between Secondary Highway 724 and Range Road 81. The road remains closed while Occupational Health and Safety and RCMP investigate.

Beaverlodge is about 500 kilometres northwest of Edmonton.

More to come.