February 2006: The gap between the superstructures grows short

Main span closure is a magnificent feat of engineering, where thousands of tons of steel and concrete superstructure reaching out from the two main bridge towers are structurally joined at a predetermined point in space.  On the morning of Saturday, April 22, 2006, workers hoisted two steel edge girders into place and bolted them to the superstucture extending from Pier 37 on the Arkansas side of the river.  After waiting several hours for the steel to expand in the heat of daylight, workers then bolted the sections to the superstructure extending from Pier 38 on the Mississippi side.

The last piece of steel, a floorbeam, is hoisted into position.

Days later, after installation of the two edge girders, a last piece of steel bearing the United States, Mississippi and Arkansas flags was hoisted into place, followed by four remaining concrete floor panels. This series of events marks a milestone in history: for a second time, the Mississippi River has been bridged between Washington County, Mississippi and Chicot County, Arkansas.

Getting the bridge superstructures to meet at their predetermined point has been the task of surveyors, who monitored the bridge’s position in space on a daily basis and compared its actual location to planned design coordinates. Their readings are accurate to a fraction of an inch – so accurate, that daily readings were taken before sunrise and before heat from the sun caused the steel to expand. As deck sections were added to the superstructure, workers kept it “on line” by adjusting the tension in the steel cable stays.

After main span closure, concrete barriers were installed along the edge of the bridge and down the traffic centerline.  Workers have also installed both roadway and aesthetic lighting. With these tasks complete, construction of the mainspan unit of the new US 82 Greenville Bridge is finished. Addition of a 2-inch silica fume roadway surface and lane striping will be done in a later contract.

Two miles of roadway and bridges approaching the mainspan unit from Arkansas and Mississippi are being built:

October 2005: Work along the Mississippi approach to the bridge.

• Construction on the Mississippi approach is well under way, with completion anticipated in April 2008.
• Work on the Arkansas approach began in March 2006, with completion anticipated in November 2008.
• Future construction phases will tie the new bridge into US 82 on both sides of the Mississippi River.

It is anticipated all work will be complete and the new bridge will be open to traffic in the spring of 2009.