Truly an amazing process. We removed the old bridge on September 27th, the first weekday after the staff and guests left for the season. The old bridge was removed in several sections that we will reuse elsewhere. Excavation for the abutments took a few days and then pouring of concrete started. That took about 14 days with concrete cure times. The day the concrete was ready, eight tractor-trailers and one crane arrived with the crane rigging, 100 tons of counter weights, and three bridge sections weighing 70,000 pounds each. The crane took five hours to set up and another four to break down. Setting the bridge took less than two hours once we were all set (and a few adjustments were made to the abutments). Watching the crane operator pick up entire trailers and bridge sections without a strain was truly amazing.
After the bridge was set, we welded the sections together, back-filled, caulked joints, and started to use this great bridge. Judging by the way it feels and was engineered, this one will last for many decades to come! We are really happy with how it looks in place!
