Armco Credit Union building protective wall following garbage truck crash
Armco Credit Union’s main branch on Hollywood Drive is putting up a crash wall following an accident in January 2025 when a garbage truck crashed into the branch’s west wall after sliding down a hill and across Hansen Avenue.
“The safety of our staff and members is our highest priority,” CEO James Hrabosky said in a news release. “While we cannot change what happened last year, we can take meaningful steps to help prevent a similar incident from occurring again.”
Construction of the wall began Thursday morning, June 4, and is expected to be completed in three weeks. The barrier wall will be constructed of steel beams, set up between the bank’s drive-through lanes and the south end of Renaissance Drive, parallel to Hansen Avenue, two roads which the truck had to cross to get to the building.
The steel beams are lifted with a recently constructed crane. Each beam is about 50 feet long and weighs 6,000 pounds. The beams are lifted by a crane and lined up before being driven about 42 feet into the ground, leaving 6 to 8 feet above ground. Once they’re all in, two more steel beams will be welded horizontally to the top and bottom of the beams.
“This project represents a significant investment in the future of our Butler branch. According to the manufacturer, once completed, the steel barrier will be capable of stopping a 60,000-pound vehicle traveling at 45 mph,” said John Gibson Jr., president of the credit union’s board of directors and clerk of works for the project.
