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New Port Mann Bridge (Surrey - Coquitlam, BC)

The bridge officially opened 4 lanes each way over the weekend and RapidBus started.
The last 2 lanes will be built once the old bridge (whihc sits in the way) is demolished.

Here's a video of the bus ride from Braid SkyTrain (temporay terminus til the HOV offramp at Lougheed is built) to Langley bus loop. Note the HOV dedicated offramp and traffic circle.

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Great Pic from today showing north approach to the old bridge removed:

BYbOYp_CEAII8yH.jpg

https://twitter.com/News1130radio/status/398232540244226048/photo/1
 
Article from last weekend's Vancouver Sun on the demolition / deconstruction of the Old Port Mann Bridge:

Weekend Extra: Deconstructing the old Port Mann Bridge (with video)
Fifty years after it opened, the last pieces will be hauled away and recycled
By Kelly Sinoski, Vancouver Sun
November 23, 2013

...

The demolition process

1. Metal barriers, lamp standards, sign posts

The demolition — slated to cost $40 million and rolled into the overall project price — began last December, starting with piece-by-piece removal of the metal barriers, signposts and lamp standards on the portions of the old bridge that overlapped with the new one.

2. Asphalt and concrete

This was followed by layers of asphalt and concrete on the northern section of the bridge deck and the steel support structures. Rebar and steel is recycled into new projects, ranging from cars to new bridges.

3. Girders

The girders of the bridge deck were next. A saw was used to cut them into panels and hauled away by crane, leaving only the concrete piers and their pedestals — standing like lonely sentinels — between the northern bank and the orange arch.

4. Land-based piers

The land-based piers that supported the bridge were toppled onto piles of sand, which acted as a cushion for the concrete columns before they were jack-hammered into piles of crushed concrete.

5. Water-based piers

On the water, workers use heavy wire band saws to cut the piers into blocks that can weigh more than 100 tonnes each, comparable to a Boeing 757 before it is filled up with jet fuel. Each bridge pier yields between 10 to 26 pieces that are lowered onto a barge and hauled away for processing.

The crushed concrete is then hauled away and used as fill in other areas of the demolition, or on berms or other projects that need to be built up around the province.

6. Main arch braced

On the south side of the bridge, the asphalt and concrete have been stripped from the bridge deck, but the girders remain, five naked lanes of steel and rebar stretching to the arch.

Workers can be seen wandering over the arch, or hanging in a basket as they prepare to take it apart. Some weld in gussets or bolt in stiffeners, similar measures that were used when the bridge was constructed.

7. Main arch removed

The arch will eventually be cut into segments and lowered onto barges on the river. The idea is to start in the middle and work toward each of the supports.

8. Footings and foundations

Eventually all that will be left is the footings and foundations to be removed.
http://www.vancouversun.com/Weekend...ort+Mann+Bridge+with+video/9202412/story.html

Photos...

9202413.jpg

North end of the old Port Mann bridge, showing land-based piers mostly stripped of becking and girders.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, Vancouver Sun


9202424.jpg

View from the north side of the bridge showingn stripped-dpwn water-based piers.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, Vancouver Sun


9202415.jpg

Steel tube braces, girders and supports will be removed and recycled.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, Vancouver Sun


9202422.jpg

Top view of strripped-down roadway from the south side of the old Port Mann bridge showing the new bridge at left.
Photograph by: Gerry Kahrmann, Vancouver Sun
http://www.vancouversun.com/Weekend...+Port+Mann+Bridge/9202412/story.html?tab=PHOT
 
Last edited:
From the TriCities Now:

port-mann.jpg

Photograph By Chung Chow

port-mann.jpg

Photograph By Chung Chow

port-mann.jpg

Photograph By Chung Chow

Dismantling of old Port Mann a challenge

Jeremy Deutsch / Tri-Cities Now
June 16, 2014 04:45 PM

In the old days, if you wanted to dismantle a bridge, you’d blow it up and pick up the pieces in the water afterward.

But times and regulations have changed, and while the old way might be much easier, for obvious reasons it’s not very environmentally friendly.

So officials behind the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement project have been tasked with taking down the old Port Mann, by building it in reverse.

...

Just like when the bridge was built, supports have been put in place while crews carry out the work, which began at the same time the new bridge opened at the end of 2012.

The process began with the removal of the bridge’s approaches.

Crews are now removing the bracing from the big orange arches and cutting a middle girder out.

The latter job has separated the steel structure into two pieces.

With the first girders removed, work will proceed to the outside edges.

Eventually, the supports will be removed and crews will work their way down the structure.

The pieces of bridge will be lowered into a barge and taken away.

As much of the material as possible from the bridge is being recycled.

Linda Meindersma, the project’s bridge section manager, explained that engineers had to back-calculate all the loads on the bridge to determine what would work in the dismantling process.

...


In all, the work is expected to take another eight to 12 months to complete.

The cost to dismantle the bridge was factored into the budget of the project, but officials note the work makes up a small portion of the $3.3-billion budget.

The work on the old Port Mann has also given construction crews the opportunity to continue finishing the new bridge.

Work on the two last lanes and pedestrian/bike path continues, but a specific date for completion hasn’t been determined.

When complete, the two far right lanes, dubbed “local connection lanes,†will be used for traffic travelling to and from Coquitlam and Surrey.

Max Logan, spokesperson for Transportation Investment Corp., the company in charge of the Port Mann/Highway 1 Improvement project, noted that with huge volumes of traffic moving between the two communities, the lanes will cut down on weaving and make travel more efficient and safe.

As for traffic volumes, he said bridge use is about one to two per cent off from this time last year, before the tolls doubled at the start of the year.

Roughly 110,000 vehicles cross the span each day.

Logan said project officials aren’t as focused on traffic volume, adding there isn’t an ideal number in mind.

Instead, he said travel times have improved, shaving an hour off a round trip from Langley to Vancouver.

...

http://www.thenownews.com/news/dismantling-of-old-port-mann-a-challenge-1.1132072
 

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