10 Jul West Townshend Stone Arch Bridge: Week 2
Posted at 16:42h
in Uncategorized
The bridge renovation project really started picking up steam during the second full week of work as the lumber was lowered down to the riverside staging area. The picture to the right shows the excavator carefully slinging the carrier timbers over the side of the bridge to the crew below.
On the opposite side of the bridge (to the right of the excavator in the picture) a wooden staircase was erected to give the crew members a safe ingress and egress, to and from the work area below. This was a necessary precaution as both banks of the river are steep and offer fairly treacherous footing.
Any time that the crews are working on, under, or around the bridge area, traffic is prohibited.
Check out the time-lapse YouTube video below to see the work in progress!
Levelling the base of the form was crucial for the whole of the to be able to support the bridge structure as the repair work progresses. As mentioned in the Week 1 Update, the whole form will rest upon the carefully laid granite blocks in the river bed.
In the picture to the left, you can see how the working surface of the scaffolding is being being put in place as the staging is built towards the arch of the bridge. This attitude will be maintained for the safety of the workers as levels are added, advancing upwards while the form is being erected.
Also of note in the picture are the safety precautions the crews are taking to ensure that workers remain safe while materials are lowered over the side of the bridge and that no damage is done to the bridge in the process.
In the picture to the right you will see the bottom of the temporary stairway, built to give the team safer access to the lower work area, and the temporary scaffolding that has been put in place for building the form.
Below Left - is a picture showing the team placing the supports for the formwork and ensuring the posts are set on a level plane. The formwork will be supporting an immense weight and cannot be allowed to shift after it is carrying the complete mass of the arch stones. Every step of this process must be executed with precision.
Below Right - is a picture taken from the upstream side of the bridge showing the formwork starting to take shape.
In the picture to the left, you can see more stabilizing beams have be anchored in place on the initial support structure, and at the top of the formwork you will notice the high number of close-set joists being put in place to reinforce the whole structure.
By the end of a full week of working on the formwork that will support the bridge during the renovation, the team had the basic support structure set in place and were ready to put the last pieces of the puzzle together over the course of the upcoming third week in Townshend.
More Photos of the Work In Progress!
