Over the weekend, Sundt moved the first two 300-ton concrete arches that will become part of the reconcstructed West 7th Street Bridge in Fort Worth, Texas. The remaining 10 arches will be moved and set into place, one at one time, between mid-May and mid-June. The $25.9 million bridge construction project involves the replacement of the approximately 100-year-old West 7th Street Bridge with a new signature structure – the world’s first pre-cast network arch bridge. Here’s a short-time lapse video showing one of the arches being moved into place:
Construction of the pre-cast bridge elements – performed by Sundt’s own concrete crews – began in January 2012 at an offsite casting yard. They are being hauled to the project with self-propelled mobile transports and set in place with twin Liebherr 1400 cranes with superlift.
The West 7th Street Bridge boasts an innovative design consisting of 12 lighted, pre-cast, post-tensioned concrete bridge arches that rise more than 20 feet above the roadway surface at their highest point. Each arch measures 163 feet long and weighs 640,000 pounds.
When complete, the bridge will feature four travel lanes with a center raised median to separate traffic. Pedestrians and cyclists will have safer and improved mobility on the reconstructed bridge, which includes separated 10.5-foot pedestrian/bicycle travel ways on the outside of the bridge arches.
The reconstructed West 7th Street Bridge will serve as a landmark gateway connecting the city’s downtown to its Cultural District and the newly renovated Montgomery Plaza area. The project will be complete by Thanksgiving and open to traffic on October 1.