Construction on the Interstate 5 Willamette River Bridge is over the hump, project managers say. With seven years down, insiders anticipate another four to go.
Plans for a new I-5 bridge, which borders the cities of Eugene and Springfield, were birthed shortly after inspectors found shear cracks in the structure of the old bridge, resulting in weight restrictions and inconvenient detours for heavy hauling trucks.
Rick Little, spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Transportation, said the project is on schedule. The old bridge was demolished in the fall.
“What’s being used to transition to the new bridge is the temporary bridge that was built in 2004,” Little said. “Right now, we are constructing the southbound structure of the new bridge. When that is completed in fall/winter of 2011, all the traffic, both northbound and southbound, using the temporary bridge will be transferred onto the new southbound structure. At that time, the construction platform/containment structure will be dismantled and rebuilt next to the temporary bridge; the temporary bridge will then be dismantled and the new northbound structure will be built.”
Construction of the new bridge began in May of last year, after the Federal Highway Administration issued “A Finding of No Significant Impact,” based on environmental assessments conducted by ODOT.
Dick Upton, ODOT Project Manager, said the bridge is being constructed with all the stakeholders in mind.
“One of the fundamental approaches to the project, maybe more of an attitude, was that we were going to work with each other,” Upton said. “We’ve done quite well; we just have a very good and open relationship with the project stakeholders.”
Upton said stakeholders included the City of Springfield, City of Eugene, Lane County, a citizens advisory board that included neighborhood associations, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and National Marine Fisheries Service.
He also said that weighing the concerns of the many involved parties extended the timeline of the project.
“We ended up with a very intricately woven time schedule for when we could and could not be in the water,” Upton said.
ODOT also conducted surveys within the community to contribute to the design of the bridge. Upton referred to this as the “aesthetic enhancements.”
Survey participants ranked words they would want to associate with such aesthetic enhancements for the new bridge. Graceful, distinctive, memorable, curves and unique were the top choices.
Little said this attention to detail could also mean construction to the new bridge may linger after the bridge is up and running.
“We expect to complete the northbound structure in winter of 2013,” he said. “At that time, northbound traffic will be shifted onto the new structure and the basic bridge will be complete. There is a chance that some of the bridge enhancements may take longer to complete.”
Bridge construction halfway done; four more years to go
Daily Emerald
April 4, 2010
Courtesy of Jiri Strasky
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