Construction work at the Monaro Highway duplication in Fyshwick was stopped yesterday after the building union visited the site and detailed various safety concerns.
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Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union official Brett Harrison was at the bridge site, examining possible safety breaches and making sure the contractors were working to address them.
He said there were serious issues with protection on either side of the bridge, scaffolding, and handrails. He said those problems put passing motorists in danger.
Head contractor of the work, BMD, said although work briefly stopped yesterday, Worksafe ACT had visited the site twice in the past week and found no problem with the site.
Senior project manager Ben Helmers said the issues the CFMEU raised yesterday were rectified immediately.
''It wasn't posing any serious safety risk, but in the interest of everyone we fixed what they pointed out,'' Mr Helmers said.
''All of these things are general maintenance things and we do regular inspections to make sure we're on top of this sort of stuff.''
The site visit by CFMEU was sparked after a ''major incident'' involving a crane's mechanical failure at the site last Friday. Worksafe ACT consequently visited the worksite on Saturday.
CFMEU ACT secretary Dean Hall said the site didn't meet Australian standards for scaffold erection and fall protection. He said fall protection to stop debris falling from the bridge on to the road below wasn't up to scratch and was putting the public at risk. He also said reinforcement on the bridge didn't meet quality assurance standards.
Mr Harrison said up to 30 workers would have been on the site yesterday when BMD ordered work to stop, leaving only a handful to address the safety problems. ''The company has actually agreed with what we've said and they've chosen to remove everybody and fix things,'' he said.
Mr Harrison said there were also serious issues with disparate pay conditions between various sub-contractors.
''What they're doing is paying the Victorian people on a separate EBA where their wages and conditions are a lot better than what they are here,'' he said. ''So you've got people working side-by side on two different sets of rates and conditions … it's illegal.''
