Armored Vehicles Testing Construction Quality?

At about 1:00 p.m. on July 13 part of the foundation pit under construction in Kyiv’s Independence Square when a heavy concrete slab on the corner by the Central Post Office, bearer of the former monument to Archangel Michael, suddenly fell in. One worker got out from the debris unaided, without obvious bodily injuries, and declined medical help. Another one was retrieved by a rescue team, his legs fractured, and was hospitalized.

The accident on Independence Square made the public wonder about the accelerated construction rate and whether this was the reason of the cave-in. Experts, however, believe that there is no connection. Chief renovation architect Oleksandr Komarovsky says the accident is by no means the result of “feverish construction works,” and that no one could have taken into account the size and weight of the “alien body” hanging over the edge of the foundation pit. Meaning that no one could have predicted the possibility of a collapse. At the same time, Interfax Ukraine reports that construction is underway “parallel to design works.” Under the circumstances, one can only rely on the experts claiming that the accelerated renovation rate is in keeping with international standards and by no means another production spurt. If so, how about workers confirming rumors about night shifts? That workers are willing to work extra hours for extra money (quite good by today’s standards) is understandable. Officials in charge of the renovation projects deny this and the whole affair makes one think of a certain degree of haste in the capital’s facelift. And of the risk of imperfection could play a dirty trick during the Independence Day parade. The cave-in on Independence Square might just be a harbinger. We can only hope that the heavy armored and other military vehicles parading down Khreshchatyk (if the authorities risk their passage) will prove that an accelerated construction rate has no adverse effect on the end product’s quality.

Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko appointed a committee of inquiry to investigate the accident. UNIAN reports that the committee is commissioned to find out why the concrete slab under the former monument to Archangel Michael that caused the accident was not removed. Hopefully, its findings will serve not so much to punish those guilty as to prevent similar accidents.