Construction News

All four Pier Legs have now been poured. Reinforcing bars are being
installed in the Pier Walls that connect the North and South Pier Legs.

Work on the bridge deck superstructure will be ongoing throughout the
winter months. Winter presents particular challenges when pouring
concrete. As you can see from the picture below, the forms are heated
over night under plastic sheets to melt the snow and covered after
the pour is complete to protect the concrete while it cures.

Workers have removed the forms for Pier No. 5 North and South Legs.
Reinforcement installation continues for Pier No. 6 Legs.

The bottom slabs have been poured for the bridge deck superstructure
that extends from either shore out towards the river piers.

The North and South Legs of Pier No. 5 have been poured. Workers will
soon begin placing reinforcement for Pier No. 6 Legs.

Workers are placing reinforcement in the bridge deck superstructure
that connects the western shore to Pier No. 5.

The South Leg of Pier No. 5 has been poured. Workers are completing the
reinforcing bars installation on North Leg of Pier No. 5.

The piling installation for the eastern falsework is complete. Workers
are now constructing forms for the girders that will extend the roadway
from the shore out to the river piers.

Work continues on installing the formwork and reinforcement bars for the
South Leg of Pier No. 5.

The piling installation for the western falsework is complete. Workers
have begun installation on the steel beams that will support the girders
spanning from Pier No. 4 to Pier No. 5 on the western shore.

On the east side, workers have begun installing the falsework that will
support the girders from Pier No. 6 to the East Abutment during construction.

All four of the river pier footings are now complete. Workers have begun
installing the formwork and reinforcement bars for Pier No. 5 Legs.
When the formwork is complete it will shape the pier leg for the concrete pour.

The bridge head design on the east side retaining walls has been formed
and poured. This architectural feature will mark the eastern boundary of
the Lowry Bridge.

On Pier No. 6, the eastern river piers, footing construction has begun.
Concrete has been poured for the northern footing and rebar continues
to be installed in the southern footing.

On the west side of the river, piling continues to be driven for the
falsework.

On the east side of the river the East Abutment stem is now complete.

The Pier No. 5 footing is now complete and soon workers will begin
assembling the reinforcement bars that will become the pier stem.

Pile driving has now resumed for the temporary falsework that will support
the bridge structure prior to arch installation.

On the east side of the river concrete has been poured for the
East Abutment stem.

Observers of the site will have noticed a good deal of activity in the past few weeks. On the west side of the river you will see the completed Pier No. 4 stem.

In Pier No. 5, the western river pier, reinforcement bars are being set in place and soon concrete will be poured for the footing.

On the east side, pile driving is complete for the East Abutment and Pier No. 6. Neighbors can enjoy a short break in the noise before pile driving resumes for the temporary falsework.

The footing has been poured for the East Abutment and crews have begun placing reinforcement bars for the East Abutment stem.

Pile installation continues on Pier No. 6 and the east abutment. Workers have begun placing the reinforcement bars into the Pier No. 5 footings.

On the east bank, patrons of Tony Jaros' River Garden can begin parking in the new lot at the southwest corner of the intersection of Lowry Avenue and Marshall Street.

Pile installation has begun for Pier No. 6 and the east abutment. This week crews are installing the storm sewers on the east side of Lowry Avenue.

Below you can see the piling installation for the East Abutment and Pier No. 6 north.

On Pier No. 5, workers have excavated the interior of the pilings and are now working on placing reinforcing bars inside of pilings and filling them with concrete. Once this work is complete, workers will begin constructing the pier footings.

Placing of reinforcement bars into Pier No. 5 pilings.

Pile installation is now complete for Pier No. 5, the western river piers. Concrete has been poured around the pilings in Pier No. 5 south and will soon be poured on Pier No. 5 north. Pile installations will now begin for the East Abutment, where the bridge connects to the eastern shore, and on Pier No. 6, the eastern river piers.

Interior look at the concrete and piling in Pier No. 5 south (on the west side of Mississippi River).

On the west side of the Mississippi River, Pier No. 4 is taking shape. This week crews having been working on constructing the reinforcement bars so that concrete can be poured next week.

On the east side, neighbors may notice a rock path leading out to the river. This is a haul road that will be used to carry materials and equipment out to Pier No. 6.

Excavation of the cofferdams is now complete and pile installation on the river piers has commenced.

The foundation of Pier No. 4, on the west side of the Mississippi river, has been poured and work on the above ground portions will begin shortly.

Excavation of Super America site (Lowry Avenue/Marshall St)

Visitors to the Edgewater Park will remember the paving with the names of the Northeast neighborhoods. These stones were recovered from the park and will be reused in the new park design.

Information about the open house held on Tuesday March 23, 2010 can be found on the Get Involved page.

Residents can learn more about the construction details and schedule at an open house scheduled for Tuesday March 23, 2010 at 6:30pm, where residents can talk with Hennepin County and Lunda Construction Inc. staff, The meeting will be held at the Eastside Neighborhood Center. Check the Get Involved page for more information on Public Meetings.

Cofferdam structures for both river piers are now installed. The contractor is excavating material within these cofferdams to allow pile installation. Local residents will now hear the “sounds of construction” as the contractor begins to install the river pier foundation piling. Each pile is 32” in diameter and will extend well over 100’ below the river surface. If placed end to end, the piling supporting the river piers will almost total two miles in length!

Photos of setting the Cofferdam:

Construction Fencing along the old SuperAmerica site (Lowry Avenue/Marshall St.)

Work activity on the West shore includes the excavation of the "Pier No. 4" foundational work and installation of 16" diameter piles.

The East shore work includes the demolition of the "SuperAmerica" store at the corner of Marshall Street/Lowry Avenue that is now completed to make way for an underground water treatment structure.

Excavation of material, along the East slope, continues for East Abutment foundation installation.

After extensive input from the community, residents can look forward to a new Lowry Avenue Bridge with:

A basket-handle steel arch design that spans more than 400 feet across the navigational channel of the Mississippi River.
Expanded sidewalks with unobstructed views of the Mississippi River.
A high efficiency LED lighting system for the steel arch that is color adjustable.
An anti-icing system that senses the conditions for icing and automatically disperses a measured amount of anti-icing material across the surface. This system can also be remotely controlled from the county’s Public Works Facility or even a snowplow.
A new underground stormwater treatment facility called a DC sand filter that serves more than 80 acres of the surrounding community.

Lowry Avenue Bridge

www.lowryavenuebridge.com

Construction News

Construction Underway!