Flawed Building Material Is Blamed for N.C. Walkway Collapse
CONCORD, N.C. — A pedestrian walkway that collapsed at a race track, injuring more than 100 fans, was built with material contaminated by an ingredient that corroded the steel beams, investigators said Thursday.
The testing lab hired by Lowe’s Motor Speedway to investigate the collapse found high levels of calcium chloride in the concrete slabs of the 320-foot-long bridge. Chloride is sometimes used to make concrete cure faster.
An 80-foot section of the bridge collapsed May 21, spilling fans onto an empty highway 17 feet below.
Three of those injured remained in critical condition Thursday.
The chloride was mixed into grout that a company used when it connected the four bridge sections.
The grout plugged gaps around steel rods that ran horizontally through the slabs, hastening the rods’ deterioration, officials said.
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