91视频

The new Interstate 5 Willamette River bridge in Eugene is not yet open to traffic, but the public was invited to take walking tours of the newly completed span today.

鈥淚t’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk across an interstate bridge,鈥� said Jyll Smith, a spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Transportation.

鈥淧eople can get an idea of the scale, of how big this is,鈥� said ODOT construction project manager Karl Wieseke.

In addition to offering the hour-long tours, ODOT hosted an opening ceremony for the bridge span, with local luminaries, such as Congressman Peter Defazio, in attendance.

鈥淚t’s a huge feeling,鈥� said Smith. 鈥淲e’ve made such huge progress, and the community’s been so involved.鈥�

The event was a time for celebration, but the project’s not over yet.

鈥淔or us it’s the halfway point, and it’s a significant milestone,鈥� Wieseke said. However, he added鈥斺�淚t’s a long project.鈥�

The span that was this week is just the southbound span. The $205 million project also includes a north-bound span as well as the Southbank viaduct, a connection for pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

The new bridge replaces a cracking structure that was decommissioned in 2004. The bridge replacement project is funded by money from the federal Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act:聽 A Legacy for Users program along with an allocation from the Oregon Transportation Investment Act.

The southbound span of the bridge opened two months ahead of schedule. Smith attributed that to a mild winter and some extra crews brought in by general contractor partnership between Hamilton Construction and Slayden Construction.

鈥淭he weather was ideal for this, and the contractor’s been able to get it done,鈥� Smith said.

Crews’ next project will be to complete striping and installation of a concrete median and signs. The single span will hold northbound and southbound traffic until the north-bound section of the bridge is completed. Crews will next demolish a detour bridge that has been carrying traffic since 2004.

The northbound bridge is a close replica of the span that’s just been completed. The main difference is that the northbound bridge is 120 feet longer, but the designs are close enough to call the bridges 鈥渢wins,鈥� Wieseke said. Because the crews are now experienced with constructing this bridge, Wieseke will be concerned with keeping up attentiveness.

鈥淵eah, we’ve done this before; it’s very much the same bridge,鈥� Wieseke said. 鈥淢y concern is how you get out of that complacency.鈥�

One of the unique parts of the bridge’s construction is its arches. The bridge is 800 feet long, and has two 400-foot spans. Each of those spans is supported by a large arch. The ribs for the arch are jacked into place on-site, a process that Wieseke calls 鈥渧ery dramatic,鈥� and requires larger design tolerances than other methods.

鈥淚t’s like watching grass grow, but it was exciting to us in the business,鈥� Wieseke said.

The entire project is slated for completion at the end of 2013, but Wiseke said he hopes 鈥渨e can beat that鈥� timeline.