This Month in
Labour History

Heron Road Bridge Collapsed – Worse Ontario workplace accident 

There is a bridge in Ottawa that crosses both the Rideau River and the Rideau Canal. The first bridge crossing the canal was erected in 1827. It was not until the mid-1960s that a bridge was built to pass over both the canal and river. That expanse sadly came to be known as the site of the worst construction accident in Ontario.  

On 10 August 1966, a span of the Heron Road Bridge collapsed while under construction. More than 60 workers were pouring concrete at the time. Tons of falling concrete, much still wet, and scaffolding covered the workers. Victims were trapped in a horrifying mess of solidifying concrete, tangled ironwork and splintered wood that made extracting them difficult. Seven died immediately another would not live out the day. A ninth victim died a month later from his injuries. Fifty-seven men suffered a wide range of injuries some never to return to work.  

The collapse was registered three kilometres away by the seismograph at the Dominion Observatory on Carling Avenue. Emergency service workers, near by construction workers, the Salvation Army, and even the mayor of Ottawa rushed to the site. Hard hats and bare hands were used to dig in the wet concrete before it hardened around the injured. It was not only the concrete that trapped the workers but also the iron reinforcing rods, some piercing bodies. Welders slowly cutting through the metal without causing further injuries. Stretchers were made from what ever construction material that lay near by. As people were pulled from the rubble, they were rushed to hospital in what ever vehicle was available even if it was only a police car.  

The Ontario Government launched an inquiry into the disaster. Ontario’s coroner hired an engineering firm to help his investigation identify the causes of the collapse. For seven days in November 1966 a Coroner’s jury met to listen to the testimony of witnesses and experts. Its verdict was that the failure of the temporary supports due to the absence of diagonal and longitudinal bracing combined with the use of poor-quality wood was the cause of the horrendous accident. While those where the physical reasons there were many human factors and failings that doomed the workers. Multiple engineers and government safety inspectors did not see what could happen and so changes were not ordered.   

The collapse led to major improvements to Ontario’s building code. Two engineers were suspended from practicing for a year. The construction company was fined $5,000 for safety violations, the maximum penalty that time. The widows of the nine men who died received lump-sum compensation of $300 each (a $3,000 value today) a widow’s allowance of $75 per month, and $40 per each child. 

Near the bridge there are two memorials to remember the dangers workers face on the job. On the south-west side of the bridge the names of the men who died that tragic summer day in 1966 are listed. Then in 1987, the Canadian Labour Congress placed the national memorial to April 28th Day of Mourning (a day dedicated to honoring workers who have lost their lives, suffered injuries, or developed illnesses on the job) in Massey Park, within sight of the now named “Heron Road Workers Memorial Bridge.”