There is a small city at Pitkin’s Curve

All the following photographs were taken by Rock Knocker on May 11, 2010. He promised me he would go every month or so, with his hard hat and vest, and take more so we can all follow this amazing engineering feat, which started construction November 30, 2009, and is predicted to take four years.

Few of us could ever hope to get shots like this, and even fewer would ever get permission to do so. Thanks, Rock Knocker!

And it looks like this:

It even has its own Motel 6:

Not that I’d want to stay there, even with the view!

Here is the new city from a longer perspective:

My internet has gone wonkers on me this evening, and I have quite a few more photographs to post. I will have to add them tomorrow, as I have reached my patience limit tonight.

The two work platforms (and no, it is not the start of the bridge construction, that will be a while coming) are depicted here:

Here is the south work platform:

Here is the north work platform. Note the people for perspective. That is a 150 TON crane sitting on the platform!

This post is a “work in progress.” I will be uploading more photos as the internet goddess allows.

This “box” is 50 feet by 50 feet. Inside you see a remotely operated excavator. It has the drill on, and the plan is to drill a number of 5 ft. square holes, to an unknown depth, which will then provide support columns to anchor the south end of the bridge. This 50×50 foot box will then be filed completely with 5 ft. of cement.

This is the head honcho on this project. Rock Knocker told me his name … but I failed to write it down.

Tomorrow, I will post some Cal-Trans photos of the slip out in 2000 which lead to this project. I am also searching for the rendering of the project, which I have seen, and participated in (along with the rock shed at Rain Rocks) as part of the Aesthetic and Design Committee.