Paige is Blog

Cherry Valley Interchange Bridge Beams Installed

Last night marked the beginning of the end for the major interchange project at SR16 and Cherry Valley Road. The first beam for the new bridge was set in place around 9:50pm. Crews were scheduled to work throughout the night to place beams over the westbound lanes of traffic from 9pm to 5am this morning and will hopefully finish that side during the same hours tonight. The beams over the eastbound lane are to be installed in the evenings on Thursday and Friday.

I had heard from an inside source (and later the local newspaper) that maintenance of traffic for the work would consist of rolling road blocks, which goes a little something like this: two police cars drive really slowly beside each other to control the traffic behind them and then stop ahead of the construction for about 30 minutes while each beam is placed. Once complete, the officers would let traffic go, then loop back around to the beginning and start all over again for the next beam.

I thought this sounded pretty cool, so my source (okay, fine, it was my dad) and I headed over to the Cherry Valley Lodge to find a good vantage point on the action.

Unfortunately, the road blocks began too far back for us to see them in action, but watching the beam placement turned out to be just as exciting. ...I don't get out much.

So here's how it went down:

Traffic was stopped, and the beam swung out from the north toward the median.

Bucket Man (TM) caught the beam.

A second beam was placed in the middle. I'm guessing to connect/anchor both sides once complete. I'm not a bridge engineer; I just work for one.

So Bucket Man brought the two beams together...

... and Black Shirt Guy helped bolt them together.

Then they released the traffic from around the corner.

As traffic is flowing freely beneath the beam, and Bucket Man and Black Shirt Guy are still securing the beams, Tether Men start walking out onto the beam.

They do something over here.

And then go sit down for a minute.

Once given the go-ahead, Tether Men release the giant magnet thingy...

...stand back up...

... and return to safety.

The next beam is then attached and prepped for installation.

One down. Eleven to go.

Father and I made a few passes driving underneath the construction to get a closer look and then went home. Yay for us being nerds on a Tuesday night. Now we all know how to build a bridge.

Estimated construction completion: August 2016