A road construction worker on U.S. 20/26 in Caldwell was hospitalized after he was crushed by a piece of heavy equipment on Monday.

The accident happened at about 1:30 p.m. near the highway, west of Middleton Road. An air ambulance was dispatched to the scene.

Caldwell Fire Battalion Chief Bud Bryson told the he Idaho Statesman, the worker was at the bottom of a 20-foot trench when the accident happened. He was operating a large auger, drilling a hole when the augur caught something, and it kicked back, and crushed him between the machinery and the (trench) box.

U.S 20/26 was blocked at Middleton Road while rescue crews worked, but emergency dispatchers say the intersection has been reopened.