King County Department of Transportation released a progress report on the South Park Bridge now under construction noting a major concrete pour scheduled to take place this weekend, Aug. 25 which will impact traffic.

Major milestone reached
The new bridge’s southern in-water pier reached its final design depth, approximately 70 feet below the river bed. This work required specialized skill of the contractor to place the pier not only at the correct depth, but also to the correct north/south and east/west coordinates. The 16-million pound, in-river pier is now securely founded on hard material. Concrete will be pumped into the bottom of the caisson to form a 24’ thick plug to seal the caisson from river water and improve the structural properties of the pier. Soon the pier crews will work to extend the concrete walls 32 feet more to their final height.

Concrete pouring this Saturday
This weekend, major concrete pouring work will occur for the South Park Bridge Replacement Project. Roughly 260 concrete truck trips are needed to complete this work – the largest concrete pour of the project.

Trucks will start arriving in South Park at 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 25 and will continue until 7 p.m. If you have any questions, please call the Construction Info Line at 206-263-9979.

Details about truck routes and traffic
Incoming trucks will travel to the existing South Orr Street. construction gate by using 14th Avenue South, Dallas Avenue South, 12th Avenue South and South Orr Street. Exiting trucks will use 14th Avenue South (see truck route map). Trucks will not queue in front of any residences or businesses.

Those in the area should expect noise from both the concrete trucks and the four concrete pump trucks that will transfer concrete to the caisson. We apologize for any inconvenience this work may cause, but consider it "sounds of progress!"