Project Team Partnered with Kiewit to Remove Bulky Bridge Section
Heavy-haul group Barnhart Crane & Rigging recently teamed up with contractor Kiewit to disassemble and remove a key section of the obsolete Gerald Desmond Bridge at Long Beach, California.
The iconic bridge, which opened in 1968, was closed for good in October 2020 following the launch of a taller bridge at Long Beach with a 50-foot higher clearance span. The replacement was part of a US$1.6 billion project to open the port’s waterways to larger vessels.
Barnhart’s Los Angeles team, working alongside Kiewit, was called on to remove the 400-foot main span of the bridge, which weighed 6.8 million pounds.
Once the channel to the port had been shut off, Kiewit crews cut free the suspended bridge section, enabling Barnhart to lower the structure 150 feet onto a waiting barge using four 1,100-tonne strand jacks.
Prior to the lift, Barnhart had performed load tests and certifications on the strand jacks, while a contingency plan had been developed to rebuild a jack if one failed.
Local authorities had given the project team just 48 hours to remove the bridge, with the threat of a fine had the project overrun.
“As for the schedule, it was never in jeopardy,” Barnhart said.
“The lowering operation and removal of the bridge from the channel via barge was completed in 20 hours with no safety incidents. The channel opened back up one day early."
The full demolition project is expected to be wrapped up by the end of 2023.
Barnhart will be exhibiting at Breakbulk Americas 2022, taking place on 27-29 September at the George R. Brown Convention Centre in Houston, Texas.
To find out more about registering, click here.
PHOTO: Bridge section being lowered onto the waiting barge. CREDIT: Barnhart
