Date:
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Contact:
Claudia Cornish, Tacoma Narrows Bridge Communications Manager, (253) 534-4646
GIG HARBOR – Today marked a big milestone in the construction story of the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge project as crews working for design-builder Tacoma Narrows Constructors (TNC) lifted the last deck section into place. Known as Deck Section #38, it is located in the east side span just east of the Tacoma tower. All sections of the new roadway deck are now in place.
Deck Section #38, which was moved from the Swan to the transport barge and then to the lifting gantry on January 24, had been hanging from the gantry about 15 feet below the bridge deck while crews prepared the deck for final deck section placement. The 39-foot trip to the top of the deck took a mere 10 minutes as massive winches lifted the 504-ton steel structure into place.
Deck Section #38 is the last of four "closure sections" placed along the deck to join together all 46 deck sections. Over the next few days, crews will secure #38 to its adjacent deck sections. "We know there’s a lot more work to do before the bridge deck is really finished," said Secretary of Transportation Doug MacDonald. "But once that connection is made, for the first time people will be able to walk from shore to shore on the new bridge. That’s an accomplishment worth celebrating."
Indeed, much work does remain on the bridge before it is ready to open. Recent high winds and cold weather have slowed TNC’s project schedule. Currently the estimate for opening the bridge is August 2007. Even that estimate depends on good weather for much of the remaining work, which includes:
•Continuing to weld and bolt the 46 deck sections together;
•Wrapping and painting the main suspension cables;
•Installing two 100-ton expansion joints in the east and west bridge approaches;
•Applying a waterproof membrane to the deck surface and paving with asphalt;
•Placing permanent concrete barrier along the bridge deck;
•Attaching pedestrian railing;
•Removing temporary structures from the bridge, such as catwalks and heavy equipment;
•Installing roadway stripes and signs, painting bolted areas on the bridge truss, and other miscellaneous tasks.
For more information on the bridge project, visit www.tacomanarrowsbridge.com.
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