On October 12, 2002, a pedestrian bridge being constructed over the Utica-Rome Expressway in the Town of Marcy, Oneida County collapsed and killed one worker and injured nine others. The collapse occurred when all the reinforcement, forms, construction equipment and workers were on the deck, and the concrete deck was being placed. The collapsed bridge consisted of a single span of approximately 170 ft long with a composite cross section of steel tub girder and cast-in-place concrete deck. After the accident occurred, the New York State Department of Transportation commissioned an independent investigation into the cause of the collapse. Legal dispute took place soon after.

In response to legal dispute, OPAC Consulting Engineers was engaged by one of the legal teams to conduct engineering investigations of the collapse in September 2005. The purpose of the engineering investigation was to determine the cause of the collapse.

OPAC's technical Scope of Work included engineering records review, structural performance requirements review, field observations, analytical studies of the design, and assessment of compliance in the design of principal bridge components. These studies led to development of an explanation of the causes of collapse that was supported by the field observations. Since the collapse, a new bridge of completely different design has been constructed at this site.