August 5, 2024 Update

This past week, the contractor made significant progress with ground anchor installation at the west abutment, drilling and grouting 18 of the 22 anchors over five days. The photo below shows the drill rig positioned atop the abutment drilling into the rock through the block outs (holes) cast into the concrete. Three days after the last anchor is installed (to allow time for the grout to gain strength during the curing process), the anchors will be torqued, which completes the installation process.
 

Drill rig drilling into rock through abutment holes. Photo courtesey of FHWA/BGC

Meanwhile, at the east abutment, the second stage of work on the launch platform is underway, with the contractor now beginning the process of cutting the micropile casings to height and attaching the pile caps (second photo).


Processing of micropile on east abutment. Photo courtesey of FHWA/BGC

The pile caps will ultimately support the framing members on which the bridge will be erected and will transfer loads from those framing members to the micropiles. Speaking of loads, during the process of launching the bridge, loads to individual micropiles will range between 325,000 pounds in compression (downward force, pushing the pile into the ground) and up to 275,000 pounds in tension (upward force). The upward forces will be generated at the east end of the bridge as it is progressively cantilevered west across the landslide during the process of launching.