Girders

Sometimes the work we do, such as setting girders for a new bridge, requires fully closing the highway to keep everyone safe. This 150-long girder weighs more than 70 tons. It was recently set over I-10 near 48th Street.

After a year's work, the new ramps connecting SR 189 and I-19 are almost ready. And with them, a better day for commercial trucking and safety in Nogales.

If you drove on SR 77 near Winkelman this month, there was no missing this important sign of progress.

They say there is strength in numbers - and that is especially true when it comes to the girders used for bridges like the one on Interstate 17 over Central Avenue.

That’s the number of concrete girders installed on two Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway bridges spanning the Salt River between Broadway Road and Southern Avenue in the southwest Valley. It’s also nearly a third of the 1,000 girders to be installed on 40 bridges throughout the 22-mile corridor, according to the Arizona Department of Transportation.

Building a bridge requires quite a bit of weightlifting when it comes to setting girders that will carry the deck and traffic.

Crews are making headway on the Loop 202 South Mountain Freeway that is expected to open to traffic in 2019.

Setting girders for an overpass carrying Bell Road across Grand Avenue (US 60) in Surprise is another sign that ADOT is on track to reopen Bell by November.

Check out our new video showing how crews place massive girders for the new Hell Canyon Bridge.

Originally published on Aug. 29, 2011, the video featured in this post gives a dizzying look at a girder installation.