The bridge has landed. As of approximately 9:30am this morning the bridge made its final descent onto the abutments.
The bridge is now sitting with a rubber pad and steel plate under each girder at both ends of the bridge.
What a momentous occasion to witness. That last 5 inches felt like a very long distance after the marathon of work that went into getting this 900 ton bridge lowered approximately 17 feet into place.
The second image is a detail shot showing the rubber pad and the steel plate under each girder. The bridge is designed to be a floating bridge. It is allowed to flex and move and the rubber pad facilitates this movement and protects the abutment. The steel plate protects the rubber pad and is shaped like a wedge to accommodate the curvature of each girder and allow them to sit flat.
A huge congratulations to the crew for all their hard work. This is a big milestone today.
The next step is to remove all of the temporary work on the bridge and abutments. Forms will be put in to be able to pour the last bits of the abutment that had to wait until the bridge was in place before they could be completed.
On top of the bridge the wood forms continue to be assembled. Once the wood forms are completed on the surface of the bridge the steel workers will come in to build the rebar cages for the concrete.
More to come.
Caltrans Central Coast (District 5)
Thank you so much for the updates. This is truly an amazing build.
Congrats Caltrans team! How about Mother Nature celebrate this feat with some rain…??
What is the customary way to celebrate a new bridge awakening? Mid October is still Opening Day for vehicles & people traffic, residents scruffle…Plenty more roads need fixing, right Kate?….
It looks really nice!
I’m pretty sure I felt it land over here above Pfeiffer Beach!
I was rather cynical about this whole process at the beginning, but I am happy to be proven wrong.