Milton-Madison Bridge
Construction
on bridge continues
despite recent rain and flooding
First
of two, five-day closures
expected in late spring
By
Don Ward
Editor
December rain has brought the fourth flooding event of
2011, further hampering efforts to build the new Milton-Madison Bridge
superstructure and rehabilitate the existing piers.
Beginning last April, Walsh Construction officials have faced continued
difficulty staying on schedule, despite being given a 60-day extension
to the construction contract last spring. This is turning out to be
one of the wettest years on record. The mid-December high water event
began on Nov. 23 and lasted several weeks. Despite the high water, numerous
project activities are continuing.
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Photo
by Don Ward Construction
is progressing on |
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Design work and steel fabrication for the 600-foot truss
are under way. Steel shipments are being recieved at the Milton, Ky.,
construction site, with some preassembly occurring in the work yard.
Work is also continuing on the construction of temporary approach ramps
being built to connect with the existing bridge on both sides of the
river.
Sustained flooding has impacted the ability to work in certain areas
of the project. After several weeks of delay, work has resumed on preassembly
of the truss bridge, pier strengthening and construction of the temporary
towers that will hold the new superstructure while the old one is demolished.
After demolition, the new superstructure will be slid into place atop
the strengthened, refurbished and widened existing piers.
Other ongoing construction activities include:
• Debris cleanup is taking place at all the temporary structures
on both sides of the river.
• Barrier railing is being installed on the temporary ramp
in Madison.
• Preparations for construction continue on the temporary
towers that will support the new truss bridge.
• Workers continue to dive piling for the temporary towers
that will support the new truss bridge.
• Steel shipments continue to arrive for the new truss bridge.
• Flood waters spilled into the top opening of the cofferdams
that had been constructed around the piers. Once water is pumped from
the cofferdams, pier reinforcement will continue at several locations.
Workers are encasing the piers in a two-foot-thick concrete “jacket”
to help strengthen them to hold a new bridge deck that will be twice
as wide as the current ones.
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Photo by Don Ward The
temporary ramp in Milton is |
• Workers are erecting a 600-foot section of
the truss bridge on barges at the Milton shoreline. A second 730-foot
section will also be built this way and each section will be floated
out into the river and lifted into place atop the temporary supports
to be erected just a few feet away and on the downriver side of the
existing bridge. The remaining steel truss sections of the new bridge
will be built in the air, Walsh officials said.
• Temporary ramp construction continues in Madison while the
dirt fill settles on the Milton ramp. A steel structure to support the
ramp has been built on the Madison side, but the archaeology of the
riverbank on the Milton side prevented workers from using steel pylons
there. A dirt embankment was instead used.
The project team plans to review the project schedule and look for ways
to make up some time in the coming months, officials said. As of late
December, no decision had been made about further extensions to the
contract. Walsh Construction had initially hoped to complete the project
sometime in fall 2012. The first of two five-day closures had been planned
for late spring 2012, to attach the temporary ramps to the existing
bridge, and again at the end of the project to connect new, wider approach
ramps to the new bridge once it has been slid into place.
• For more information on the project, visit: www.MiltonMadisonBridge.com.