DARE COUNTY, N.C. (WAVY) — A contractor employee was fatally injured Monday while working on the Rodanthe Bridge Project.
An NCDOT communications officer confirmed the report with WAVY News 10 regarding the employee’s death.
The circumstances surrounding the death have not yet been released.
The employee worked for Flatiron. The company released this statement about the accident:
On Monday, August 24, a Flatiron employee was fatally injured while working at the Rodanthe Bridge project in North Carolina. Following this tragic accident, work at the project was suspended while an investigation is underway.
Our thoughts are with our employee’s family, friends and colleagues during this difficult time.
We have no additional details at this time.
A GoFundMe page identifies the employee as Steven ‘Bull’ Bailey. It says he was a firefighter with the Roanoke Island Fire Department, who most recently worked on construction of new local bridges. His obituary says he was “an avid do-it-yourselfer” who loved fishing, but mostly loved his family. Bailey leaves behind a wife and three children.
His funeral is Monday, August 31 in Manteo.
The $145 million project will take N.C. 12 over Pamlico Sound to bypass a section of the highway susceptible to flooding.
The 2.4-mile bridge that travels between the southern end of the Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge over the Pamlico Sound and Rodanthe is scheduled for completion in late 2020 or early 2021.
Just last month, NCDOT officials urged residents and those participating in water activities on Pamlico Sound to stay at least “a football field away” from the Rodanthe Bridge as work continues for the construction project.
Officials said the area around the bridge is considered an active construction zone, and safety is the main concern.