Hello Everyone,
Following the catastrophic rain event from last week, I hope this email finds everyone safe from the damage that mother nature sent our way. The rain clearly had a significant impact to the surrounding area, and the new bridge was no exception. Some of you I have talked to on site, and it was clear that nobody had seen the river that high before. After the water receded, the part of the new structure that has been installed did not sustain any major damage fortunately from what we can see. There will be some minor repair work though, and the materials used around the new west abutment and adjacent area, were washed out and damaged. This will require the contractor to clean up the adjacent area and redo this part of the structure. The materials out in the river for the pier did sustain minor damage, and the contractor worked last week to get them cleaned up and to continue the progression on the pier.
Overall, the project has had its hurdles. Given the rain last week, and some issues with materials under the river at the pier location, the contractor has informed the department that the project is approximately 3 weeks behind schedule. The contractor is doing what they can to try to make up as much of the time as they can, thus the Saturday operations now. As of right now, we are anticipating that the structure will be complete with the roadway open by November 1st 2018. The structure may not be able to be stained this year, and may have to wait till spring, but that will be evaluated at the time based on weather.
As always, feel free to send along any comments or questions.
Best regards,
Nick
| Nicholas Hoernke, PE Transportation/Construction Engineer
|