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Jan-Feb 2002 – Arrival of first cutting edge, fabrication of breakwater components
February 11, 2002: The contractor, Massman Construction, delivers the first of two cutting edge structures. The cutting edge was fabricated at Corn Island, Indiana (near Louisville, KY) and transported by towboat down the Ohio and Mississippi rivers to Greenville.
The cutting edge arrives at the materials yard, about 2000 feet upriver from the new bridge site.
The cutting edge is brought to the materials yard, just south of the existing Greenville bridge.
The cutting edge is brought to the materials yard, just south of the existing Greenville bridge.
This cutting edge will form the bottom of the caisson for pier 37, a concrete column which will support the west tower of the bridge. Concrete will be poured into the steel latticework. The barrel-shaped air domes between the lattice sections provide buoyancy and control descent of the column as concrete is poured.
Valves at the top of the barrel-shaped air domes control buoyancy. When the cutting edge reaches the river floor, the domes will be removed and soil will be excavated through the openings. As soil is removed, the concrete caisson will sink into the river floor to its predetermined elevation.
Sections of six-foot diameter steel pipe were used to build a structure called a “waler” (pronounced like “whaler”), which will be used during construction of breakwaters for piers 37 and 38.
The completed waler at the dock of the materials yard. The waler is floated into position by barge and acts as a guide for the placement and driving of steel tube piles into the river floor.
Steel tubes are welded together to form pilings. This piling will be inserted through the waler and driven into the floor of the river.
The dock for the materials yard, just south of the existing Greenville bridge.