Contractor takes extra measures to pour concrete during colder weather ...

The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) notes that Kraemer North America, the contractor for the new Mississippi River Bridge project at Lansing, made the final concrete pour Tuesday, December 3 for the last pier on the Wisconsin shore side of the project. The DOT notes that this concrete pour was much different than others that took place earlier this year for the obvious reason of the much colder temperatures that gripped the area during the early to middle portions of last week, when the concrete pour was scheduled to take place.

Because of the colder weather, the Iowa DOT explains that Kraemer North America had to do a few things differently than when pouring concrete under warmer conditions. Those further measures included using hot water to make the concrete and keep it warm while delivering it to the job site, wrapping the pier in protective blankets (as evident around the top of the pier pictured above), and heating the forms where the new concrete was being poured. The photo above shows the black ducts running into the pier supplying the heat to those concrete forms and concrete pour area, with all these measures being taken to keep the water in the concrete from freezing, allowing it to cure effectively and reach its full strength under the colder than normal temperatures experienced last week. Photo courtesy of the Iowa Department of Transportation.