April session of “Let’s Talk Bridges!” provides updates on bridge repairs and answers to commonly asked questions, demonstrates how to make the concrete used on new bridge
Providing concrete evidence ... The activity the engineers had planned for the monthly bridge talk held April 11 involved making concrete - using the exact materials being used for the concrete on the new bridge project. “Croell was nice enough to let us use samples of those materials from their plant,” bridge project engineer Clayton Burke said. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond.
“Wood” you believe it? ... Clayton Burke, overseeing engineer on the bridge replacement project with the Iowa DOT, explained to Bridge Talk attendees why the new piers are better than the piers they replaced during repairs to the Black Hawk Bridge. “The pile (the new piers) are founded on extend all the way down to bedrock and they meet modern design standards,” Burke said. “The original piers were only founded on 40- to 50-foot-deep wooden pile and constructed in the late 1920s.” Burke is shown here holding some of the wood pieces retrieved when the original piers were demolished. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond.
by Julie Berg-Raymond
Repair of the Black Hawk Bridge is moving along right on schedule, according to a statement posted on social media Monday, April 15, by the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT).
Most encouraging is the fact that all the spans are back in place on the existing bridge. While contractors still have to install approximately 400 bolts, and a thorough inspection needs to be undertaken to make sure the bridge is safe, the DOT statement concludes, “we are on pace to meet our goal of having the bridge back open by the end of (April).”
During the sixth monthly “Bridge Talk,” held Thursday, April 11 at the Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library, spirits were higher among attendees than they had been in recent weeks, since the unexpected closing of the Black Hawk Bridge Sunday, February 25 because of safety concerns after reports were confirmed that the bridge had moved.
Use of a free water taxi/land shuttle service spearheaded by the Iowa DOT and in operation since Monday, March 18, had been increasing daily - as passengers were being carried back and forth between the Lansing Marina and Big Slough Landing in Wisconsin for work, shopping, and recreation.
Reflecting on the first week of the free service in late March, Clayton Burke, the overseeing engineer on the bridge replacement project with the Iowa DOT said, “I think it went well, and our passengers were happy to have a cost-effective way to cross the river.”
Held on the second Thursday of every month from 5 to 6 p.m. at the library in Lansing, the bridge talks feature opportunities for the community to engage in activities and dialogue with engineers working on the new bridge project. Burke spoke to an audience of about 40 people at the April session of “Let’s Talk Bridges!” He was joined by regular members of the Bridge Talk team - Paul Lindsey, senior field inspector; Anden Lovig, construction engineer; and Travis Konda, project manager, HNTB Corporation.
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