Date:
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Contact:
Claudia Cornish, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Communications Manager, (253) 534-4646
GIG HARBOR – Design-builder Tacoma Narrows Constructors (TNC) plans to relocate the ship SWAN from Tacoma’s Commencement Bay to the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge tomorrow morning, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation. The SWAN, expected to arrive at the bridge between 7:30 and 8 a.m. Wednesday, will deliver the new bridge’s final 15 deck sections to the job site. As with the other two deck deliveries, the SWAN will be moored under the new bridge’s west side span.
The SWAN arrived in Commencement Bay on November 26 after a 23-day, 6,250- nautical mile trip from South Korea. Since the ship’s arrival, crews have been working to remove temporary shipping trusses from the deck sections and installing winches and other equipment onto the ship that will be used in the deck-lifting process.
Once the SWAN is moored on site, TNC will implement an aggressive deck-lifting schedule. All 46 deck sections are expected to be in place after the new year. Simultaneously, crews will continue the bolting and welding process to permanently join deck sections that are already in place. Bolting and welding activities will continue through March.
WSDOT reminds mariners that stringent marine safety zones will be in effect once again during the deck-lifting process. Daily updates on marine restrictions can be found at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge/misc/notice/.
More information on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge project can be found at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/sr16narrowsbridge/.
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