The Sellwood Bridge Moves

sellwood_bridge_moves_inch_byThis weekend, construction crews in Portland completed the in-tact move of the 6.8-million-pound Sellwood Bridge, Oregon’s busiest two-lane bridge.

The move of the bridge is necessary to accommodate uninterrupted traffic flow while a new, improved bridge is constructed alongside it.  The original bridge was constructed in 1925.  The new Sellwood Bridge is scheduled to be completed in 2015.

A spokesman for the engineering firm that coordinated the move declared, “We’ve moved things that are heavier before, but probably nothing quite as complicated as this.”  The Oregonian described the move as “flawless.”

The following time-lapse video depicts the 20-hour move:

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