bridge visit

The fixed Kittery span of the new Memorial Bridge was floated in last Wednesday beginning at 12:30 AM. I had been thinking about watching - but not in the middle of the night. Really, the section I'd like to see placed is the center span so I guess I'd better keep a close eye on the project web site for June activities. It seems that they have been posting the planned actions a day or two ahead of time.

Yesterday I headed to Portsmouth to see the two bridge spans in place. The workers were placing pieces of the section that will support the lift of the bridge so I stayed to watch. I'm so in awe of the brains behind the design of the bridge. It was designed by Theodore Zoli; he also designed the Zakim Bridge in Boston.

For anyone interested in the bridge design, click to read the article The Brains Behind the Bridge.

I met Steve from Piscataqua Productions (the project photographer) while I was standing on the pier closest to the bridge, watching. He was at the end of the pier with two tripods, one wearing a video camera, one a still camera. He has been a constant presence at the construction sites, capturing the changes and posting videos on his YouTube site showing the progress. I've included links (below) to his videos of the float in of both the Portsmouth and the Kittery spans. I missed the actual float-in; even if I'd been there Steve's videos give a perspective I would not have been able to access.

Click these links to view Steve's videos:
    Middle of the Night Kittery Span Float-In
    Memorial Bridge Passes Under the Sarah Long Bridge
    The New Memorial Bridge: Portsmouth Span Float-in

More photos of the new bridge pieces in place can be seen in the gallery Rebuilding a bridge starting with this photo and ending here.