Construction worker dies at Convention Center job site in Seattle

SEATTLE — State regulators are investigating after a construction worker was killed Monday at the expansion site of the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle.

Authorities have not yet said what happened. The Washington State Department of Labor and Industries has begun an investigation into the incident but is still in the early stages, a spokesperson said.

The worker was a member of the Cement Masons & Plasterers Local 528.

Clark Construction Group and Lease Crutcher Lewis are the general contractors on the Convention Center project, operating as a joint venture. L&I identified Performance Contracting Inc., or PCI, as the subcontractor.

“Clark/Lewis temporarily suspended construction operations and is cooperating with local authorities and Washington State Department of Labor and Industries’ representatives to conduct a full investigation into this matter,” Vice President Ben Eitan said in a statement. “Nothing is more important than the safety of the people on our job sites.”

PCI, the subcontractor, could not immediately be reached for comment.

The $1.9 billion expansion of the Washington State Convention Center began in 2018. The Pine Street Group is the project’s developer. The project encountered financial trouble during the pandemic and politicians floated the idea of a bailout before the project secured additional private funding.

The convention center’s addition is expected to open next summer.

The last construction-site fatality in Seattle was in June, when a construction worker on the Highway 520 Montlake Project was killed, according to the agency.