December 11 “Let’s Talk Bridges!” session touches on recent steel work on the new bridge, and discusses demolition details
Progress on new structure continues ... Work on the new bridge that will span the Mississippi River at Lansing continues as the Black Hawk Bridge (standing in the background) awaits its implosion demolition fate now scheduled for this Friday, December 19 at approximately 9:30 a.m. Both matters were topics of discussion at the December 11 “Let’s Talk Bridges!” session, the presentation series held the second Thursday of each month at Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library during the bridge replacement project. Discussion on the new bridge construction at that most recent “Let’s Talk Bridges!” session centered around the importance of the geometry and precision utilized in the construction process, while details of Friday’s demolition process and safety measures being taken also occupied a good portion of the session. Photo by Julie Berg-Raymond.
by Julie Berg-Raymond
About 20 people attended the December session of “Let’s Talk Bridges!” at the Meehan Memorial Lansing Public Library Thursday evening, December 11.
Present to talk about recent steel work on the new bridge, and to provide information about the demolition of the existing bridge (originally scheduled for this Thursday, December 18, at or about 9:30 a.m., but as of a late announcement Monday, December 15 that date has been pushed back a day to Friday, December 19) were Clayton Burke, project manager, with the Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT), and Aaron Rosenbery, project manager, with Kraemer North America (contractor on the bridge project).
The family-friendly monthly series - which is focused on learning about and celebrating the new bridge project at Lansing - is open to the public. “Let’s Talk Bridges!” sessions are held at the library the second Thursday of every month, from 5 to 6 p.m.
Opening the bridge talk session with an update on recent steel work for the new bridge, Burke said the first span is starting to rise above the piers: Kraemer has been getting this done in “pretty record time,” Burke said. He talked about the importance of the geometry of the truss - specifically, where the steel beams meet - and said they “have to be in the exact right spot, plus or minus a quarter of an inch,” adding, “there’s a lot of experience and knowledge that’s needed, to be able to do this work.”
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