Six giant 28,000-pound steel I-beam girders were installed Wednesday on the eastern side of the Merrimack River, linking a new abutment with concrete piers built 125 feet off shore. Each was lifted by 200 ton Link-Belt ATC-3200 Hydraulic All Terrain crane, from Moore’s Crane Rental of Dover.
Beems are being installed on the Sewalls Falls bridge. (JENNIFER MELI / Monitor Staff)
Once the girders were being held in place, the installation of drift pins, which ensure precise alignment of holes before bolts are installed with an electric gun, required a worker to wail away repeatedly with a sledgehammer.
A beem is lowered into place during the construction of the new Sewalls Falls bridge. July 6, 2016 (JENNIFER MELI / Monitor Staff)
Accornding to the Concord Monitor, contractors E.D. Swett are installing five parallel sets of girders, on top of which a deck and roadway will be built. The pier on the western side of the river is still being built, so those girders will be placed later.
“It’s starting to look like a bridge,” said Ed Roberge, Concord city engineer, of the $11 million project, which replaced a dilapidated bridge sufficient for one lane of traffic before it closed down entirely.
The bridge, which connects Sewalls Fall Road with Mountain Road or Route 132, is the only crossing of the Merrimack River between Interstate 93 in the center of Concord and Holt Road bridge just north of the city.
The new bridge is on schedule to open by Nov. 1.
(David Brooks can be reached at 369-3313, or [email protected] or on Twitter @GraniteGeek.)
