Commuters in West Seattle and beyond anticipating the use of the new South Park Bridge will be interested in a slide presentation on the building of the structure sponsored by KC Dept. of Roads held this Saturday, noon, at Napoli ’s Pizzeria, 8600 14th Avenue S, just south of the bridge in South Park. Photographer John Stamets has been documenting the work from all angles including this scenic shot taken last month of iron workers building walls for the second lift of the south caisson.
UPDATE, SUNDAY:
Over 40 curious and concerned citizens, plus five engineers from Kiewit-Massman packed into Napoli ’s Pizzeria in South Park Saturday, Jan. 21. A slideshow and lecture was offered by King County to update the public on the progress of the construction of the new South Park Bridge.
"We're looking at September, 2013 to complete the bridge," Tim Lane, King County Bridge Deputy Project Engineer, revealed to the public. "They're out there double-shifting, six days a week, whatever it takes."
He was referring to workers with the prime contractor, Kiewit-Massman, and others, who, he said, were not hindered much by the snow storm.
"This is our first chance to show what we're doing out there," he continued. "There's been a lot of construction. Frankly, you can't see anything yet because everything is going down into the river. We keep building it and sinking it. I'm very excited. It's on schedule and on budget. We're looking good now. There's a lot of interest on this bridge. People have embraced this project."
UW professor of architectural photography, John Stamets, presented his slide show, including images of the old bridge, and shots of the new construction from helicopter, and other vantage points. He is employed by the county to document the construction. He made the point that the contractors wisely retained portions of the old South Park Bridge to use as staging areas for the new construction. It came in handy for his tripod, too. He also showed some time lapse video of cement columns, or piles, being augered into the hard till soil beneath the water and soft soil.
The original 1929 piles were from trees 68 to 75 feet. Problem is, the hard till soil begins at 70 feet beneath the Duwamish River on the South Park side, and slopes down to 105 feet on the Boeing side of the river. Some audience members asked Lame and Stamets why engineers back then allowed for the shoddy work, but they didn't know, and seemed equally puzzled that it was "good enough" back then.
To view the progress of the construction via John Stamets' photos and captions, visit this King County website.
Another presentation is in the works, possibly scheduled for this May.
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From King County D.O.T. Road Services:
Join us this Saturday for a slideshow presentation of the South Park Bridge being built
Join us this Saturday, January 21, as we give you an insider’s look into the building of a bascule bridge--from big cranes to cofferdams to concrete pours!
Guest speakers include:
Tim Lane , King County Bridge Engineer
John Stamets, Photographer
Details:
12:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 21, 2012
Napoli ’s Pizzeria
8600 14th Avenue S
Seattle , WA 98108
