ORLANDO, Fla. — A worker struck by a 3 and 1/2 ton pipe in Orlando Friday marked the latest injury from the $2.3 billion reconstruction of Central Florida’s vexing highway.

The I-4 Ultimate worker was hit by a 7,000-pound pipe at 1:40 p.m. at North Hughey Avenue and West Robinson Street, according to the Orlando Fire Department.

He suffered an unspecified leg injury from the 60-foot pipe and was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment, OFD said.

Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Olson said his agency was aware of the injury and in contact with the I-4 Ultimate contractor.

The subcontractor worker sustained the injury when he was “struck by a pipe during regular construction activities,” SGL Constructors, a joint venture building the 21-mile project, said in a statement.

“He was immediately transported to a local hospital for treatment,” the statement added. “We are currently conducting a thorough investigation.”

It wasn’t immediately clear Friday if the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would investigate.

The I-4 Ultimate worker was hit by a 7,000-pound pipe at 1:40 p.m. at North Hughey Avenue and West Robinson Street, according to the Orlando Fire Department.

He incurred an unspecified leg injury from the 60-foot pipe and was rushed to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment, OFD said.

Florida Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Olson said his agency was aware of the injury and in contact with the I-4 Ultimate contractor, SGL Constructors.

SGL Constructors is a joint venture building the 21-mile makeover of I-4.

“He was immediately transported to a local hospital for treatment,” the statement added. “We are currently conducting a thorough investigation.”

It wasn’t immediately clear Friday whether the Occupational Safety and Health Administration would investigate.

Past Injuries, Deaths

OSHA investigated four deaths of I-4 Ultimate workers since the project began in 2015.

Just last month, OSHA and SGL Constructors reached a settlement after an investigation into the death of worker James H. Mills, Jr. of Bartow.

Mills, 59, was crushed to death by a falling steel pipe at a worksite on Wymore Road near Winter Park. He was standing on a flatbed trailer and assisting a coworker who was using a forklift to load a 20-foot steel pipe.

Mills fell from the trailer and the pipe rolled off of the trailer and landed on him, OSHA records say.

The settlement dropped a proposed fine of $1,895 for a record-keeping violation and focused only on the worker’s death. 

The final penalty was $13,260.

His death paused the I-4 Ultimate project for a week for a review of safety procedures.

Shortly after work resumed, three I-4 Ultimate workers sustained minor injuries when they fell about 15 feet from an elevated platform to the street below.

The completion date of the project became unclear in May after SGL Constructors blamed FDOT for delaying the job by 260 days. As originally proposed, the megaproject is supposed to end in 2021.

The work is being done by The I-4 Mobility Partners, a public-private partnership to rebuild I-4 through Central Florida under a 40-year-agreement.

The highway currently has six general-purpose lanes, three in each direction. Four additional variable-rate, toll lanes (two in each direction) are being added.

Thirteen bridges along the corridor are being widened. Another 74 are being replaced and 53 are being added.

Fifteen major interchanges will be rebuilt.