The Interstate 495 bridge project has entered a critical phase. The bridge was shut down last month after an engineer in the area found the piers moved. The suspected culprit is believed to be fill dumped in the area.According to a release from the Delaware Department of Transportation, work is continuing on eight temporary towers beneath the I-495 southbound bridge deck in preparation for jacking work that will put the bridge in alignment.
The positions on the top of the towers where the jacks will adjust the deck must be exact, DelDOT reported. This requires the bridge engineers to design and the contractor to fabricate and install a jacking system.
DelDOT is hopeful southbound traffic on the bridge can begin to flow before Labor Day, with the northbound span opened a few weeks later. However, it warned that problems could develop.
Other tasks are also being performed , including curing of the concrete pours around the base of the pier closest to the Christina River, closing the holes that were made in the bridge deck to allow steel to pass through, and strengthening the jacking towers by tethering anchor points with steel cables.
Once these construction activities are done, the jacks can be put in place to begin the slow process of realigning the bridge deck. How well this phase of the work will go is unknown, and the possibility does exist for setbacks or problems to occur, DelDOT cautions.I-495 northbound bridge work continues with grade beams and underpinning activities underway at all four piers.
