Substructure work is well underway for the 8-span, 1800 foot bridge over the Connecticut River. Six of seven piers are in the water which involves cofferdams, excavation, pipe pile driving, concrete seal placement, cleaning and concreting the pipe piles all before construction of the concrete piers can begin.
We began our work on the New Hampshire side where Pier 7 and the NH abutment are located. The other piers are in descending order to the Vermont side of the river where Pier 2 is the last river pier and Pier 1 is on land.
The bridge is on a new alignment just downstream from the existing bridge. New approaches on both ends of the bridge will be constructed to provide for a better flow of traffic, avoiding a very busy, multi-approach intersection in Vermont.
At this writing, we have constructed a work trestle some 1200 feet long that extends beyond Pier 3. The trestle allows work on the piers, structural steel erection and bridge deck construction. Just prior to final completion of the the bridge we will remove the trestle and make final adjustments to adjacent areas.
