Date:
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Contact:
Claudia Cornish, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Communications Manager, (253) 534-4646 / Cell phone (360) 280-6547
TACOMA - Calm Narrows waters and an early evening glow framed the first deck lift of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge this evening. At approximately 7:45 p.m., the first bridge deck section was lifted off the barge MARMAC and began its journey skyward. Crews working for design-builder Tacoma Narrows Constructors (TNC) used powerful gantry cranes straddling the bridge’s two main suspension cables to lift the 488-ton, 116-foot-long deck section off the barge. Over the next four hours, they will meticulously raise the deck section to bridge elevation, where they will attach it to its permanent home in the middle of the bridge’s center span.
At Pierce County’s Narrows Park, the "official bridge viewing site," about 50 people enjoyed the summer evening while waiting for the deck lift. As with last Thursday’s transship lift, the most dramatic moment came when they realized that the deck section had cleared the barge and was slowly moving upward. Those with binoculars got the first indication of the lift and word spread quickly. Since the gantry cranes hoist the deck section upward at the rate of less than a foot per minute, spectators had plenty of time to enjoy and record the historic moment.
Crews will work into the night to secure this first deck section. Once that task is completed, TNC will focus efforts on transshipping and lifting the second deck section, scheduled to occur later this week. The second section will be placed immediately east of the first deck section in the main span. Through December, all 46 deck sections will be lifted into place, one a time, in a sequence designed to maintain equal stresses on the two towers.
The deck sections will not be permanently connected together until most are lifted into place. Spectators watching the entire deck methodically come together will notice several changes in suspension cable geometry as the weight of the various deck sections add tension to the cables. In the end, the alignment of the new bridge deck and suspension cables will closely resemble those of the existing bridge.
For more information on the new bridge, visit www.tacomanarrowsbridge.com.
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