I-5 Canoe Canal Bridges near completion

From ODOT-

Crews with Slayden Construction Group are almost finished with the new northbound Canoe Canal Bridge. Now that the bridge deck is poured, the focus turns to installing railing and finishing the roadway.

Crews install wood forms between the bridge beams. The ironworkers use the rebar embedded in the beams (shown in the foreground) to secure interwoven rebar which will be surrounded by concrete when the deck is poured.

To pour the deck, the contractor installs steel rails on either side of the roadway to guide the concrete spreading machine. In addition, string lines control the paver direction and surface elevation. As concrete is delivered to the site, the paving machine spreads and vibrates the concrete evenly across the surface. Workers follow with hand tools to finish the deck surface.

Steel railing supports and guides the concrete paver along with an electric eye that follows the string line.

The deck then cures for up to two weeks to achieve the required hardness. When the railing and roadways are complete, the bridge will be ready for freeway traffic.

The finished deck awaits striping and other finishing touches.