TACOMA – The Hood Canal Bridge pontoon walls are on the rise – two feet at a time. Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and its contractor, Kiewit-General of Poulsbo, placed the first wall section for the new Hood Canal Bridge pontoons, on Friday, May 26, at the Concrete Technology graving dock in Tacoma, Wash.
The crews worked around the pontoon cells in a pattern, pouring approximately two feet at a time for the first 17-foot tall wall section. "This wall pour was successful due to a lot of hard work," said Scott Ireland, WSDOT Hood Canal Bridge Construction Manger. "The pontoon walls are only six inches thick, so getting concrete down to the bottom of the 17-foot tall wall is very difficult. WSDOT engineers made the process run efficiently by developing a special concrete mix and unique pouring techniques."
The work progressed at a good pace, with crews placing the 160 cubic yards of concrete in less than eight hours. This concrete pour was the fourth of 21 required to construct draw span pontoon PA.
There will be a concrete pour almost every week in order to complete the three pontoons currently under construction (PA, PB and Q) by January 2007. All together, 56 concrete pours are required to place the 7,952 cubic yards of concrete that make up pontoons PA, PB and Q. That’s enough concrete to build a single-lane highway almost 3.5 miles long.
Concrete Technology site preparation began in November 2005. Pontoon construction began in March 2006.
WSDOT and Kiewit-General will construct all 14 new pontoons inside the 150-foot wide by 465-foot long Concrete Technology graving dock by completing construction over four cycles, or phases. Three pontoons are being built in this first cycle. Five pontoons will be constructed in the second cycle, four pontoons in the third cycle and two pontoons in the fourth cycle.
Another three pontoons, built during the west-half bridge replacement in the early 1980s, will be retrofitted to use as part of the new east half. The completed east-half pontoon roadway sections and fully assembled east-half draw span will be floated into place during the bridge closure in May and June 2009.
When finished, the Hood Canal Bridge will be wider, safer, and more affordable to maintain. For SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge Project information, visit www.hoodcanalbridge.com.
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Visit www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic for weather and roadway information. Highway construction and maintenance updates are available on-line www.wsdot.wa.gov/regions/olympic/construction or by calling 5-1-1.