If a picture is worth a thousand words, the computer animations here reveal volumes of easy-to-understand engineering information.
These visualizations enable viewers to look into the future and see how the Hood Canal Bridge Project engineering feats will happen.
With animation, viewers can witness the Hood Canal Bridge Project at angles impossible to capture in a photograph. In a mouse-click, years of construction are condensed into seconds and visual explanations of complex engineering and construction activities are easily accessible.
Anchors launch from dry dock
The dry dock at Todd Shipyards is where crews constructed the two cycles of twenty new anchors for the Hood Canal Bridge.
Watch a time-lapse video of crews launching the completed second cycle of anchors on June 20, 2007:
Anchor Launch Time-lapse Footage (Windows Media Player)
Anchor Launch Time-lapse Footage (Real Video)
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Pontoons floating out of the graving dock
The graving dock at Concrete Technology Corporation is where WSDOT and Kiewit-General are constructing 14 new east-half pontoons. It will take four pontoon construction cycles to build all the pontoons.
This animation demonstrates how the pontoons will be floated out of the 150-foot wide by 465-foot long graving dock in Tacoma. This process will be repeated for each of the four construction cycles:
Pontoon Float-out (RealVideo / 0:43 sec)
Pontoon Float-out (Windows Media / 0:43 sec)
Watch a time-lapse video of the pontoons floating out of the graving dock on December 6, 2006:
Time-Lapse Footage of the Float Out (Windows Media / 0:28)
Time-Lapse Footage of the Float Out (RealVideo / 0:28) |
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Pontoon outfitting
Once the individual pontoons are constructed, they will be floated from Tacoma to Seattle for outfitting. Crews will connect the individual pontoons into three large sections, build the elevated roadway sections on top of the pontoons, install all electrical and mechanical parts and test the draw span's retractable assembly units.
This animation demonstrates the outfitting process described above.
Outfitting (RealVideo / 0:42 sec)
Outfitting (Windows Media / 0:42 sec)
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Pontoon replacement and float-in
 During the closure of the bridge in May-June 2009, tugboats will "float-out" old sections of the bridge and "float-in" the three new replacement sections.
In fast-motion, this animation demonstrates the process of the bridge replacement activities over the six-week bridge closure.
Pontoon Float-in (RealVideo / 0:12 sec)
Pontoon Float-in (Windows Media / 0:12 sec) |