Massive beams put in place
<p>Duane Bauer of Bauer and Buck Construction, left, walks across one of the 85-foot concrete beams being placed to form the new Shady Lane Bridge on Thursday in Evergreen.</p>
Replacement of the Shady Lane Bridge in Evergreen is going well and the last of six massive concrete beams that make up its deck was carefully lowered into place Thursday afternoon.
“Everything went real smooth,” said Steve Reifenrath, owner of Glacier Traffic Products & Services. The business is handling traffic control for the project.
Six T-shaped concrete beams were hauled in from Spokane for the project. Each of the steel-reinforced beams is about 85 feet long and weighs about 94,000 pounds.
Fit together, the beams make up the deck of Shady Lane Bridge, which spans a creek just south of Montana 35.
The Montana Department of Transportation awarded the $522,000 bridge project to Bauer and Buck Construction in Missoula.
The 30-year-old bridge was targeted for fast-track replacement in March after a four-foot-long hole opened in the southbound lane of the bridge’s deck.
With the deck in place, workers will start installing guardrails and a pedestrian path and paving approaches to the bridge.
Work on the project started on Monday, Oct. 7.
Shady Lane Bridge is slated to reopen by Wednesday, Oct. 23, according to the Montana Department of Transportation.
“It was a 15-day window to do it all. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them get out of here a day early even, but that remains to be seen,” Reifenrath said.
Reporter Tom Lotshaw may be reached at 758-4483 or by email at tlotshaw@dailyinterlake.com.