The contractor replacing the Broadway Bridge over the Arkansas River between Little Rock and North Little Rock expects to move the second arch into place Wednesday, a state Highway and Transportation Department spokesman said Monday.
Whether it happens depends in part on how successful Massman Construction Co. is in removing the footing of the old bridge today.
The explosives used to demolish the footing last week didn't quite break it up and left the footing debris too high to sink the barges that are used to float the arch into place. To lower the arch onto the caps on top of the new piers, the barges are flooded with water once they are positioned between the new piers.
But when the demolition crew began drilling new holes into the footing, they found the footing to be little more than a pile of debris that didn't collapse, said Danny Straessle, the department spokesman. As a result, crews will use machinery on a barge to break up and remove the debris, he said.
"It is a pile of debris that just didn't move," Straessle said.
Once the debris-removal operation is completed, the river navigation channel on the south side of the footing, which is near the middle of the river, will have to be inspected to ensure that it is clear of the debris before the arch can be moved on Wednesday, he said.
"It's a little bit of a setback, but it's not as bad as initially thought," Straessle said.
Today will mark Day 60 in what state highway officials describe as a 180-day sprint to remove the old bridge and replace it with a new one.
Though the 93-year-old bridge was still considered safe, the department deemed it too costly to maintain and informed local officials in January 2011 that it would be replaced with what it said would be a safe, efficient and functional bridge.
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The Highway and Transportation Department originally proposed a Broadway Bridge design that's similar to the Main Street Bridge, but local leaders persuaded the department to incorporate two basket-handle arches into the design. Pulaski County committed $20 million to cover the extra cost. Local leaders say the basket-handle span will become a distinctive landmark in the region.
Massman, based in Kansas City, Mo., was awarded the $98.4 million contract in September 2014. Initial work on the project began in January 2015, with much of it building the new piers in the river.
Under the terms of the contract, Massman is required to close the old bridge, build the new one and open it to traffic on or before March 29 or risk incurring disincentive payments of $80,000 per day. The company will be paid $80,000 for every day the project finishes early, but those payments are capped at 50 days.
Metro on 11/29/2016