The L'Ambiance Plaza collapse was one of the worst disasters in modern Connecticut

Connecticut

Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

 history. L'Ambiance Plaza was a 16-story residential project under construction in Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport, Connecticut

Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...

 at the corner of Washington Avenue and Coleman Street. Its partially erect frame completely collapsed on April 23, 1987, killing 28 construction workers. Failure was possibly due to high concrete stresses on the floor slabs by the placement process resulting in cracking ending in a type of punch through failure. There was a school of thought that this accident was preventable and highlighted the deficiencies of the lift slab construction

Lift slab construction

Lift slab construction is a method of constructing concrete buildings by casting the floor or roof slab on top of the previous slab and then raising the slab up with hydraulic jacks, so being cheaper and faster as not requiring boxing and supports for casting in situ.The Johnstone Hall a dormitory...

technique. This accident prompted a major nationwide federal investigation into this construction technique as well as a temporary moratorium of its use in Connecticut.

External links

• 28 Feared Dead In A Bridgeport Building Collapse New York Times.