Community presentations keep us connected with our neighbors

From ODOT-

As a member of the Eugene-Springfield community and ODOT’s Willamette River Bridge Project manager, I appreciate when our neighbors express interest, ask questions and want to learn more about the new Interstate 5 crossing.

Recently, Jeff Firth, a project manager with Hamilton Construction, presented with me to the Springfield Rotary Club. We were happy to share our insights on the project. 

Later that day Jeff and I, along with Larry Fox, president of OBEC Consulting Engineers, presented at the City of Eugene Public Works All Division Workshop. The city’s Transportation Planning Engineer Chris Henry, who is a member of the I-5 Willamette River Bridge Project Development Team and the Design Enhancement Steering Committee, invited us to be their keynote speakers.

In addition to sharing project information with this group of planners and engineers, I presented Chris with ODOT’s Certificate of Appreciation. Chris is a valued partner in our collaborative efforts and deserves recognition for his hard work and dedication.  

ODOT Project Manager Karl Wieseke (left) presents the agency’s Certificate of Appreciation to Transportation Planning Engineer Chris Henry for his outstanding partnership on the I-5 Willamette River Bridge Project.

I look forward to sharing our complex project at more presentations next month to the Emerald Empire Kiwanis Club and the Washington Chapter of the American Public Works Association.

If your group would like to hear more about the bridge project from our design and construction team, please contact Nichole Hayward at Nichole@cawood.com or call (541) 484-7052.

Arch construction - a closer look

From ODOT-

This fall, we will complete the arches for the new Interstate 5 northbound bridge, following the same construction process used to build the southbound bridge arches.

One of the final steps is to raise each arch section about two to three inches off the falsework by pushing the arches apart with four large 965-ton hydraulic jacks. The jacks are positioned in the gap at the top of the arch and simultaneously separate and lift each so crews can pour the concrete closure that completes each arch and allows them to stand on their own. .

Similar to a jack you would use to lift your car, a single hydraulic pump applies pressure to each of the four jack rams, which separate the arches. Each ram has its own pressure gauge. Close calibration ensures that the rams and the gauges provide uniform and accurate information so equal pressure is applied and the arches aren’t damaged.

The calibration process pressurizes the rams up to 95 percent of their maximum capacity while individual gauge readings are recorded. Once the calibration is complete, crews must set up the system identically when moving the arch sections, using the same gauge and ram combinations they used during testing.  

Only a few facilities on the West Coast can test such large hydraulic rams. The University of Washington, in conjunction with the subcontractor team from Precision Hydraulic, will calibrate the jacks over a two-week period this month.

The university provides written certification of the calibration along with a copy of the data collected during the tests to help ensure accuracy during this critical process.

All the original bridges are gone

From ODOT-

We look forward to celebrating major milestones on the Interstate 5 Willamette River Bridge project. Our most recent accomplishment was removing the last remnants of the old bridges.

Demolition began in 2009 when we removed the original Interstate 5 bridge. We separated the material, recycled the steel rebar and crushed and reused the concrete for fill to raise the ground level, form an embankment and groom other empty spaces in preparation for building the new arch bridges.

When we demolished the temporary detour bridge last winter, we saved its beams for other projects throughout Oregon. We’re reusing some of those beams to build the new viaduct path on the south bank near the new Willamette River bridges.

The last remnant we removed was a section of the Canoe Canal detour bridge, which we left in place until now to help us install the beams for the new northbound Canoe Canal Bridge.

The remaining portion of the Canoe Canal detour bridge just east of the new bridge (at left) was the last section of the old bridges to be removed.

To remove the last of the old bridges, crews first separated the remaining 21 beams from the support columns and hauled them to a storage yard, where they remain until they are needed on another project. Staton Construction demolished the remaining bridge columns and removed the last fill material. We will eventually plant native vegetation, restoring the area to a better condition than when the project started.

Now that the original and detour bridge are both gone, it’s time to focus on finishing the remaining structure being built across the river.

Crossing the Canoe Canal

From ODOT -

Months before the new northbound Interstate 5 bridge opens to traffic, the new northbound Canoe Canal Bridge will be complete. Located north of the Willamette River, the Canoe Canal Bridge is often referred to as the Patterson Slough Bridge.

All I-5 traffic currently uses the new southbound Canoe Canal bridge, which was completed in early 2011. Construction is under way on the northbound bridge, which will be a duplicate of the southbound bridge.

We are building the concrete abutments to support the precast bridge deck beams first. In late February, the precast beams will be trucked from Harrisburg to the work site and lifted into place. The bridge’s single span design eliminates the need for additional columns, opening up the area under the bridge for safer pedestrian passage.

The picture below shows what remains of the temporary detour bridge, and pile driving on the north bank for the new bridge abutment. The detour bridge will be demolished after the new bridge is complete.

The south bank at Canoe Canal is also being readied. In the photo below, an excavator makes room for the forms and rebar to be placed for the abutment.

Below, a protective cover was built over the Canoe Canal to prevent construction debris from entering the waterway. In addition, it serves as a temporary bridge for workers to move from one side to the other.

Watch a year of construction in less than 2 ½ minutes

From ODOT-

I’m excited about this amazing time-lapse video posted by one of our lead contractors, Slayden Construction. It shows construction work on the Willamette River Bridge project throughout 2011 in just under 2 ½ minutes.



From cameras looking down over the project, you see crews speedily building and paving the new southbound bridge as cars fly by on the temporary detour bridge.



After traffic switches to the new southbound bridge, you see cranes eating away at the temporary bridge, from the top of the deck down to the piers, one by one.



Finally, you see construction of a reinforcing wall to anchor the new northbound bridge to the bank at the south end of the project. One end of the box beams will rest on this abutment and the other end on the first pier.



The video then brings us up to where we are today with the project.



Thank you to JDP Media of Stayton for producing this video, and to Slayden Construction for commissioning it.