THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, November 14, 1995 TAG: 9511140110
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CINDY CLAYTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Workers at Norfolk International Terminals on Monday finished pouring concrete onto the deck of the second of two giant bridge spans that will double the width of a 43-year-old York River crossing between Yorktown and Gloucester Point.
The two additions to the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge, four lanes wide and weighing 6,000 tons apiece, will be floated in six sections on barges to Yorktown next year.
Laborers stood 110 feet above the Elizabeth River to spread the last of the concrete as it was pumped from the ground onto a conveyor belt at deck level.
With the concrete poured, crews can begin installing electrical wiring and the motors that will open and close the bridge to allow ships through.
The bridge was built in 1952 to carry 15,000 vehicles a day, but it now handles about 28,000. The new bridge will be able to carry about 30,000 cars a day.
``We're looking in pretty good shape as far as scheduling,'' said Curtis Blair, the project's superintendent.
A $72.7 million contract for the bridge was awarded in 1993 to Tidewater Construction Corp. of Virginia Beach. Other costs, including highway approaches, will bring the total to $103 million.
With crews working through fair and foul weather, the company is expected to complete the project in the spring.
In May, the existing bridge will be closed for 12 days. The old span will be disassembled while the prefabricated sections are hoisted into place by cranes.
Street lights and red- and white-striped gates already have been installed on the new sections. White and yellow lines will be added before they are floated to its destination.
The new bridge will carry two lanes of traffic north toward Gloucester and two lanes south to Yorktown. There will be a concrete median and safety shoulders. ILLUSTRATION: Building a bigger, better bridge
HUY NGUYEN photos
The Virginian-Pilot
TOP: Enoch Hyde, left, and Jennifer Cunningham wash excess concrete
from the steel structure of bridge being constructed at Norfolk
International Terminals. The workers at NIT on Monday finished
pouring concrete onto the deck of the second of two giant bridge
spans. ABOVE: The two additions to the George P. Coleman Memorial
Bridge, four lanes wide and weighing 6,000 tons apiece, that will be
floated in six sections on barges to Yorktown next year.
by CNB