Crews working on the new Walterdate Bridge are preparing for the next big challenge of moving a massive arch into place that will define the $155 million project.
“The barges are manoeuvred using winch cables, so they winch them out into the river and they move them upstream,” said Ryan Teplitsky, the city construction project manager.
It took months to build the 950 tonne arch and two weeks to move it onto two barges.
However, conditions on the North Saskatchewan River have to be safe before the barges can be floated upstream.
“So what you're doing is narrowing the river and forcing all that ice to go in between the barges. When you force too much ice in between those barges that's where you run the risk of potentially creating an ice jam and we have mitigation procedures in place”
Engineers are constantly monitoring ice flows, looking for the best time to move out.
Crews may have to wait until the river freezes, and then use equipment to break open a section of the ice to do the work.
The city says the project remains on schedule and is slated to open in the fall of 2016.
“It's very exciting. We've been working a long time to get to this point.”
The city is livestreaming the work on its website.
With files from CTV's Amanada Anderson
