Floating the second arch of the new Broadway Bridge into place, which had been tentatively scheduled for today, has been postponed again, an Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department spokesman said Tuesday.
Work to remove debris from the footing of the old bridge over the Arkansas River between Little Rock and North Little Rock was delayed until the arrival of a larger excavator that is being shipped from Memphis by barge, said Danny Straessle, the department spokesman. It is expected to arrive Thursday.
"They need an excavator with a longer reach," he said.
The arch originally was to be moved into place Nov. 22. Explosives used to demolish the footing last week left the debris pile too high to sink the barges used to float the arch into place. To lower the arch onto the caps on top of the new piers, the barges are flooded with water once they are positioned between the piers.
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Floating the second arch into place now may take place sometime over the weekend, Straessle said.
Also this weekend, other work on the $98.4 million project to replace the 93-year-old bridge is expected to close Riverfront Drive and a portion of the Arkansas River Trail in North Little Rock in the vicinity of the bridge, he said.
The contractor, Massman Construction Co. of Kansas City, Mo., is in the midst of a 180-day period for the bridge to be closed to traffic, the old bridge removed and the new one built and opened to traffic. Today marks Day 61.
If the bridge is closed to traffic past March 29, Massman will incur a penalty of $80,000 per day, according to the contract. The company will be paid $80,000 for every day the project finishes early, but those payments are capped at 50 days.
Metro on 11/30/2016