Construction work begins on I-90 floating bridge
SEATTLE -- The express lanes on the I-90 floating bridge won't close until next Monday, but construction work has already begun on the bridge deck.
"What we have to do is bring in these huge concrete saws to start cutting away the concrete and that will allow us to remove the expansion joints," says Mike Murphy with the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Murphy says the more work crews can accomplish with the lanes still open, the fewer days they'll need to keep the lanes closed in May.
"If they get the saw-cutting done now, they can come in with their concrete chippers and basically chip away that concrete that much faster," adds Murphy.
At this point the state has scheduled the express lanes closure to begin May 4 and end May 23. But Murphy says the contractor has a $40,000 a day incentive to finish the project ahead of schedule.
The 40-ton expansion joints on the express lanes and the westbound bridge deck are all 20 years old, cracking badly and in need of replacing.
Project Designer Ralph Dornsife says if the joints aren't replaced, they could break and then, "you would end up with gaps in the roadway which could obviously present safety issues to motorists."
The westbound bridge deck will be closed for similar work from July 5 to the 28th.
Because of the lane closures, commute times from Bellevue to Seattle during May and July could increase from 10 minutes to over an hour.
Murphy says all commuters should consider working from home, biking to work, or joining a vanpool.
"If you sign up to start a new vanpool before May 15th you can get three months for free," he said.
The project supports more than 80 jobs, and will cost an estimated $8.3 million to be paid for with federal transportation money.
For a more information visit, the WSDOT Web site
"What we have to do is bring in these huge concrete saws to start cutting away the concrete and that will allow us to remove the expansion joints," says Mike Murphy with the Washington State Department of Transportation.
Murphy says the more work crews can accomplish with the lanes still open, the fewer days they'll need to keep the lanes closed in May.
"If they get the saw-cutting done now, they can come in with their concrete chippers and basically chip away that concrete that much faster," adds Murphy.
At this point the state has scheduled the express lanes closure to begin May 4 and end May 23. But Murphy says the contractor has a $40,000 a day incentive to finish the project ahead of schedule.
The 40-ton expansion joints on the express lanes and the westbound bridge deck are all 20 years old, cracking badly and in need of replacing.
Project Designer Ralph Dornsife says if the joints aren't replaced, they could break and then, "you would end up with gaps in the roadway which could obviously present safety issues to motorists."
The westbound bridge deck will be closed for similar work from July 5 to the 28th.
Because of the lane closures, commute times from Bellevue to Seattle during May and July could increase from 10 minutes to over an hour.
Murphy says all commuters should consider working from home, biking to work, or joining a vanpool.
"If you sign up to start a new vanpool before May 15th you can get three months for free," he said.
The project supports more than 80 jobs, and will cost an estimated $8.3 million to be paid for with federal transportation money.
For a more information visit, the WSDOT Web site