Bridge work moves along methodically

DOVER — Motorists are expected to get their first taste of the new U.S. Highway 2 bridge and parts of the new highway alignment this summer.

Thirty-four of the bridge’s 77 girders have been set, according to project officials. The last 10 girders for the new bridge are set to leave Oklahoma by train imminently.

“That will be all the beams,” said Kip Harris, project superintendent for Sletten Construction, lead contractor for the $22 million bridge project.

The setting of girders for the bridge has been the primary focus of the winter construction season. The girders are made of weathering steel called CORE-TEN, a group of alloys which form a durable rust-like finish and eliminate the need for paint.

The project’s earthwork contractor, M.A. DeAtley will commence with the last round of drilling and blasting of the granite hillside on the north side of the bridge alignment in mid-April.

“They’re probably 90- to 80-percent done with the blasting,” said Ed Florence of David Evans & Associates, the project’s design consultant.

Florence estimates the entire project is two-thirds complete.

Project officials anticipate traffic could start using the five-lane, 295-foot-long bridge as early as July. Traffic will also start using segments of the new highway alignment as the project continues marching steadily along to completion.

The project, which began construction in 2009, is scheduled to wrap in the fall. The bike path west of Chuck Slough will remain closed until then.

The existing 74-year-old bridge over the Union Pacific/BNSF Railway line will be chopped into scrap, although recently-installed precast deck panels might be salvaged for reuse.