HURRICANES

How is Skanska preparing for Hurricane Ian after Hurricane Sally debacle?

Benjamin Johnson
Pensacola News Journal

With Hurricane Ian bearing down on the Gulf Coast, Skanska representatives told the News Journal they are taking every precaution they can ahead of the storm. 

Skanska's failure to secure barges led to the partial destruction of the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in 2020, leading to a nine-month closure of the bridge and numerous lawsuits from area governments, business owners and residents who suffered financial losses during the bridge outage.

A statement from Skanska officials indicates they have no intention of repeating that scenario.

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After loose barges damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in September 2020, Skanska officials say the construction company is "implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor" ahead of Hurricane Ian.

"As the Gulf Coast prepares for the approaching storm, we are closely monitoring Hurricane Ian's projected path," Maritza Ferreira, Skanska's communications director for the southeast region, told the News Journal in an email Monday. "Skanska is implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor."

As Pensacola learned with Hurricane Sally, forecasts can always change

As of Monday afternoon, Hurricane Ian was moving northwest across the western Caribbean and was forecast to turn north and move into the eastern Gulf of Mexico sometime Tuesday into Wednesday. The current forecast calls for Ian to approach the west coast of the Florida peninsula Wednesday into Thursday in the Tampa area.

Still, forecasts can and do change, as was the case with Hurricane Sally. 

Models and forecast for that hurricane "suffered from a noticeable left-of-track (west) bias near the northern Gulf coast" and "many of (the National Hurricane Center's) track forecasts depicted a potential landfall in southeastern Louisiana or Mississippi, even as late as 36 (hours) before the eventual landfall in Alabama," according to a 2021 National Hurricane Center Tropical Cyclone Report on Hurricane Sally. " 

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After loose barges damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in September 2020, Skanska officials say the construction company is "implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor" ahead of Hurricane Ian.

The storm ultimately made landfall in near Gulf Shores, Alabama, on Sept. 16, 2020, with Pensacola taking the brunt of Sally's impact.

During the hurricane, 27 of 55 the Skanska barges being used to construct the Pensacola Bay Bridge broke loose, causing significant damage to the bridge, as well as some property along the shore.

Lawsuits against Skanska after Hurricane Sally still pending

Skanska has attempted to exonerate itself from any financial liability for the destruction caused by the barges, or to limit its responsibility to the value of the barges at about $1.2 million. Skanska officials claimed the impact of the storm was stronger than predicted and they did as much as possible to prepare, so they should not be held financially liable for the damage the loose barges caused.

Skanska Vice President of Operations Tom Fulton said during a federal trial that the company did not follow its own hurricane preparedness plan in the lead-up to Sally because the National Weather Service's updates on the storm all referenced a "tropical depression" or "Tropical Storm Sally" and didn't explicitly use the word hurricane.

After loose barges damaged the Pensacola Bay Bridge during Hurricane Sally in September 2020, Skanska officials say the construction company is "implementing its storm preparations and is currently in the process of securing barges and cranes and mobilizing equipment into safe harbor" ahead of Hurricane Ian.

U.S. District Court Judge Lacey Collier ruled in December 2021 that Skanska should have done more to prepare for the storm than to tie its barges to pilings in the Pensacola Bay, and that its executives should have known based on weather reports that there was a chance the storm would directly impact Pensacola.

Skanska has appealed that ruling and the case remains pending.

More than 1,000 plaintiffs have filed suit against Skanska in state court for damages related to the loose barges and the bridge outage, and a federal appellate court's ruling on Skanska's appeal is expected to have a significant impact on if and how those cases proceed.

Benjamin Johnson can be reached at bjohnson@pnj.com or 850-435-8578