Gusty winds on Tuesday night blew over a construction project’s scaffolding on the 400 block of Garden Street in Santa Barbara, causing temporary lane closures the following morning.

The National Weather Service issued a severe thunderstorm warning on Tuesday, cautioning residents that fast winds, up to 70 mph, could sweep through Santa Barbara County.

The scaffolding for the four-story apartment complex project at 425 Garden St., near the entrance to Highway 101, was no match for the strong winds and fell onto a tree and the sidewalk in front of the project site. 

The project demolished three one-story commercial buildings to build the 36-unit apartment complex. Six of the units will be affordable units.

Project staff think the wind ripped the ties off of the scaffolding, leading it to fall, according to Hanna Peterson, project manager/superintendent with McGillivray Construction.

“It’s very atypical that scaffolding would fall like that, and it must have been really strong,” she said. 

She said the construction company always looks at the weather forecast to “make sure things were tied off and secured.” 

After the scaffolding fell over, debris scattered across the street, and the city closed the southbound lane until about noon, Peterson said.

Additionally, as it fell, the scaffolding broke a street tree branch, according to Bryan Latchford, the City of Santa Barbara’s community engagement manager.

“The trees helped a lot because it saved the scaffolding from spilling into the road,” Peterson said, adding that a lot of the scaffolding pieces were also damaged.  

She confirmed there was no major damage to the nearby area or to the construction project. Additionally, the damage to the scaffolding did not delay the completion date for the housing project. It is still anticipated to be completed in mid-May.