PACIFIC NORTHWEST EDITION
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July 4 2021 Vol. V • No. 14
“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Pacific Northwest Connection – Patrick Kiel – 1-877-7CEGLTD – pkiel@cegltd.com
BRIDGING THE GAP Kraemer North America Sets Final Spans On $56M Seattle Project
The newly constructed Northgate Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge is 1,900 ft. in length and spans 10 lanes of I-5 in the Northgate neighborhood.
By Lori Tobias CEG CORRESPONDENT
Crews with Kraemer North America general contractor recently set the final two of 16 steel spans on a $56 million project to create a pedestrian-bicycle bridge over I-5 in the north Seattle neighborhood of Northgate. The bridge project is funded by the nineyear, $930 million Levy to Move Seattle, approved by voters in 2015. “The massive western bridge span weighs more than 400,000 pounds and now stretches over both the southbound and express lanes of
I-5 just south of NE Northgate Way,” said Darrell Bulmer, spokesman of Seattle Department of Transportation [SDOT]. “It connects to the 200,000-pound eastern bridge segment installed above the northbound lanes of I-5 and to ramps built last year. “For trivia buffs, 400,000 pounds is twice the weight of a Argentinosaurus [the largest dinosaur ever discovered], or the equivalent weight of 56 Asian elephants, 30 T-rexes, or three 737 jets.” The Northgate Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge is 1,900 ft. in length and spans 10 lanes of I-5 in the Northgate neighborhood. The
125-ft. span above the northbound lane was installed over a weekend in June; the 234-ft. span over the southbound lane was set the following weekend. The installation of the steel spans required the closure of I-5 on two separate occasions. The stretch of Interstate sees approxiately 220,000 vehicles daily in both see BRIDGING page 6
The 125-ft. span above the northbound lane and the 234-ft. span over the southbound lane were installed over the course of two weekends in June.