On the heels of completing the second of two massive foundations for the new crossing’s main span, the New NY Bridge project has reached another foundation milestone for its approach spans: The final precast pile cap was installed for this phase of construction on Thursday August 20, 2015. Since installation of the tennis-court-sized bases began one year ago almost to the day, 60 approach span pile caps have been placed atop groups of piles.
The hollow approach span are fabricated off-site and barged to the project for installation atop the bridge’s foundation piles. The 300-ton caps unify the steel foundation elements into a single structure, forming a base capable of supporting the bridge’s piers and road deck. Once in place, the precast pile caps are fitted with galvanized steel reinforcements and sealed with up to 750 cubic yards of concrete from the project’s floating batch plants.
