Neighborhood Notes

The Steel Bridge should open next week after the completion of construction that links the new MAX green line into the existing routes. The Steel Bridge connection was the trickiest part, given the age of the bridge and the original design for the job.

This story from the Daily Journal of Commerce describes how a creative solution was needed to get the job done.

As it turns out, no structural contractor would take the job because of the risk involved in working over a railroad. The industry had numerous highway projects from which to choose, so contractors didn't want to take the risk.

Faced with no contractor, the civil engineers redesigned the project so the risk of the railroad was eliminated—and in the process saved about $1M in construction costs and cut the bridge closure time in half!

They hope to use the same design when the streetcar line is extended over the Broadway Bridge to the east side.

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