Everything to slide into place for Fourth Street bridge project in Flagstaff

Starting this weekend, crews are going to be “sliding” the new Fourth Street bridges over I-40 into place using an innovative method that saves a lot of time on bridge projects.

The bridge slide method is a technique that basically moves precast bridges into place in a process that works much like sliding components into place. The closure needed to remove the old Fourth Street bridges and slide the new ones into place is expected to take about two weeks.

Compare this with the six to eight months of restrictions required for a traditional bridge replacement.

This isn’t the first time ADOT has used this technique. Last fall, a similar project to replace the Bellemont bridges on I-40 at Hughes Avenue, formerly known as Transwestern Road, used the bridge slide. There, crews used hydraulic jacks to lift and move the new bridges into place.

You can really see the Bellemont bridges “sliding” into place thanks to the time lapse video ADOT’s video team did. Check it out.

ADOT is always looking for new innovative ways to deliver highway projects that can reduce delays and inconvenience for drivers. The bridge sliding technique is another way ADOT is delivering a safe, reliable transportation system more efficiently.