FRESNO (KMJ) — Giant girders are being installed to rebuild Downtown Fresno’s Tuolumne Street Bridge. It’s part of the High Speed Rail project, with the crossing being improved in order to accommodate the new line.
There are 42 girders set to be put in place: each of them are between 98 and 149ft in length, weighing around 200,000lbs, and 6ft high. They’re made up of steel reinforced concrete, and were built in Lathrop and trucked to Fresno overnight to avoid the daytime traffic.
“It really comes down to the span,” says engineer Robert Campbell. He explained that the current crossing’s design means the girders have to be a particular design in order to fit with what’s already there.
“The span is 149ft over G Street, it’s because the columns are so far apart we had to go with a larger span, that’s why they come with the bigger girders. So these girders are going to span over the entire G Street and it’s actually there to support the new roadway for dual traffic.”
The need to dismantle the old crossing, and install the new one, was to give the new High Speed Rail Line the clearance it needs in order to operate through Downtown Fresno.
Campbell adds that a lot of the effort goes towards getting the equipment ready, in order to physically move the massive concrete slabs to their desired positions.
“This is 300 ton crane,” he says as he motions towards the giant machine ready to lift the girders into place. “We’re going to be lifting up these girders around 50ft in the air. We have to do a full circle, a full 360 and place it onto the furthest placement.”
It’s hoped this stage of construction will be complete by the end of the summer, with the bridge itself expected to last until the end of the century.
Hear the report from KMJ’s Dominic McAndrew as it aired:
