First bridge beams placed this week at the 55th Street Project Posted on 7/10/2012
The task of placing 70 bridge beams on the 55th Street NE Bypass/Grade Separation project kicked off this week, as construction crews started today on this milestone event.
A team of trucks will take two runs each day, for the next ten working days, to bring the precast bridge beams to the construction site. The beams were formed in Menoken, N.D. at the site of subcontractor Cretex. The biggest beams are 134-feet long and weigh approximately 112,000 pounds. Crews at Cretex worked for three months to form the properly-sized beams.
"With the placement of these beams, the work continues to progress nicely throughout the bridge portion of this project," said Jeff McElwain, project engineer for the 55th Street NE Bypass/Grade Separation. "Seeing the spans being formed by the beams serves as a milestone event for all involved with the project and the general public."
Seven beams will be placed every day, forming one bridge span at a time. There are ten bridge spans total in the 55th Street NE Bypass/Grade Separation project. The crews expect to finish placing the bridge beams near the start of the North Dakota State Fair at the end of the month.
Ames Construction, the prime contractor in charge of the bridge portion, finished earlier this week with pouring columns and caps to form the bridge piers that will support the 1,100-foot-long bridge. In all nine columns and two abutments are needed to provide the proper foundation for the bridge beams.
Even with the increased work on the bridge portion, the road alongside the bridge remains open to both lanes of traffic on 55th Street. As a reminder, the driving public is encouraged to exercise extra caution throughout the construction zone to ensure their safety and the safety of the crews.
The City of Minot, Ward County and the North Dakota Department of Transportation are all partners in the 55th Street Northeast Bypass/Grade Separation project.
Weekly public information meetings are being held for the 55th Street project at the Ames Construction Trailer on the corner of 55th St. NE and County Road 12, on Tuesdays at 11 a.m. The public is encouraged to visit www.minotroads.com, email info@minotroads.com or contact public information coordinator Brekka Kramer at 701-720-5798 for more information.
