Teichert Construction completed the intial curing of last week's bridge deck pour this week. This operation was followed by tensioning of the bridge itself. Steel tendons were installed in longitudinal ducts within the bridge structure. Once these tendons were secured and anchored at one end of the bridge, a load was applied from the other side of the bridge to tension the structure. After jacking to the required load, the force in the tendon is transfered from the jack to the end of the anchorage. Prior to it's release from the jack, the tendon is secured by wedges and then the protruding tendon strands can be cut off. This post tensioning operation minimizes the stresses on the bridge from it's own concrete load and eliminates potential cracking to produce a more durable concrete bridge.
The bridge deck is finally exposed after curing under wet burleen blankets for a week.
A hydraulic ram jack is placed over a steel tendon prior to tensioning.
Teichert Construction cuts the protruding tendon strands after completion of tensioning operations.
