Huey P Long bridge lift

The US$ 1.2 billion Huey P. Long Bridge Widening Project in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, US is a four-phase project long-awaited by local communities and is vital to the recovery of the Greater New Orleans area. The first phase of the project began in April 2006 and the entire project will be complete in 2013. The contractor for Phase I is Massman Construction Company. The contractor for Phase II is Boh Bros. Construction Company. The contractor for Phase III is a joint venture of Massman Construction Company, Traylor Brothers Inc. and IHI Inc. The contractor for Phase IV is a joint venture of Peter Kiewit Sons', Inc., Massman Construction Co., and Traylor Brothers, Inc. The Huey P. Long Bridge was opened to traffic in 1935 and has served the New Orleans area residents and visitors in the same capacity for almost 75 years. This project will add an additional travel lane and inside and outside shoulders to each side of the bridge- providing a safer, more reliable Mississippi River crossing. The “Big Lift 1” started with barges moving into place on 18 June 2010. The contractors then used 900-ton (818 tonne) strand jacks to lift the bridge segment and stability frames approximately 135-ft (41 m). Once lifted, they were skidded 13-ft (4 m) toward the existing truss using four 200-ton (182 tonne) hydraulic jacks and placed in their final position — the centre-line of the bearings. Horn beams were used to help secure the bridge segment. Additionally, top and bottom laterals were installed to make the structure hurricane safe. The stability frames were lowered down to the barges using eight strand jacks on Monday 21 June 2010.