See construction photos and videos on Flickr.
The major milestones accomplished during the project included:
| Date |
|
|
Work Activity |
| 5/1/09 |
|
|
Close Bridge to Traffic |
| 5/1/09 |
|
|
Remove old retractable draw pontoons -- 471 feet |
| 5/4/09 |
|
|
Remove old east truss |
| 5/7/09 |
|
|
Remove old draw span assembly (NOP) -- 928 feet |
| 5/8/09 |
|
|
Remove old west truss |
| 5/9/09 |
|
|
Remove old west A frame |
| 5/9/09 |
|
|
Remove old roadway pontoons (Q and R) -- 720 feet |
| 5/9/09 |
|
|
Set new west A frame |
| 5/11/09 |
|
|
Remove old roadway pontoons (STUV) -- 784 feet |
| 5/13/09 |
|
|
Move in new roadway pontoons (UVWX) -- 926 feet |
| 5/20/09 |
|
|
Remove old east-side pier four |
| 5/15/09 |
|
|
Set new west truss |
| 5/16/09 |
|
|
Move in pontoon RST -- 900 feet |
| 5/17/09 |
|
|
Connect pontoons UVWX and RST |
| 5/18/09 |
|
|
Set new east truss |
| 5/18/09 |
|
|
Move in new east draw span -- 600 feet |
| 5/23/09 |
|
|
Connect draw span to pontoon RST |
| 5/25/09 |
|
|
Set span between UVWX and RST roadway |
| 5/24/09 |
|
|
Test draw span |
| 5/25/09 |
|
|
Set span between RST and draw span roadway |
| 6/2/09 |
|
|
Complete barrier installation |
| 6/2/09 |
|
|
Complete joint work, grouting, post-tensioning |
| 5/31/09 |
|
|
Complete utility connections |
| 6/3/09 |
|
|
Complete 20 consecutive draw span tests |
| 6/3/09 |
|
|
Open bridge to traffic |
| 8/18/09 |
|
|
Complete anchor connections |
| 1/25/10 |
|
|
Complete west-half draw span ballasting operations |
| 3/21/10 |
|
|
Complete functional and draw span tests |
|
What work has been completed?
- Function testing of all systems on the bridge, which includes going through a 93-page, 1,400 item checklist and final draw span tests were completed in March 2010.
- Ballasting operations for the retrofitted west-half draw span pontoons were completed in January 2010. The work required WSDOT and Kiewit-General to adjust the freeboard of the 496-foot-long, 60-foot-wide, 21-foot tall pontoon section to within fractions of an inch. Adjustments to the 28.5-million pound draw span were time consuming and had to occur at slack tide during the daylight hours.
- Anchor cable connections between the new east-half pontoons and anchors were completed in August 2009. Crews used a combination of divers and remotely-operated vehicles to connect the new 3-inch thick anchor cables, ranging between 1/4-mile and one mile in length, to 20 new anchors that are on the bottom of the canal 80-340 feet underwater.
- The bridge closed to traffic May 1-June 3, 2009. During the closure, crews removed the existing trusses and the east-half of the bridge, floated-in new roadway sections and connected them together, installed new east and west trusses and transition spans, and tested the electrical, mechanical and hydraulic systems. Find out more about:
- Building 14 new pontoons in four cycles at Concrete Technology in Tacoma and towing them to Seattle for assembly, outfitting and testing was completed in August 2008.
- Constructing 20 anchors and placing them on both sides of the bridge at the bottom of Hood Canal was completed in September 2007.
- Fabrication and assembly of steel bridge parts such as transition spans, pontoon hatches, draw span machinery and draw span hydraulic components. Read the truss move and installation fact sheet (pdf 180 kb).
- Connecting the individual pontoons together into three large sections, building elevated roadway sections on top of the pontoons, installing all electrical and mechanical parts and testing the draw span retractable assembly units.
- Building new approach span roadways next to the existing roadway was completed in May 2006. The work required placing the existing approach span on rollers; rolling that existing span onto temporary falsework; and rolling the new wider roadway into place.
- Widening the bridge’s west half to match the new east half by cutting away the existing deck, setting new girders on crossbeams, forming deck sections and pouring concrete was completed in May 2006.