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Friday, September 21, 2012

Transportation Pontoon Fever!

Posted by Goldy on Fri, Sep 21, 2012 at 11:28 AM

More than just oddly engaging, the time-lapse video above of one of the new 520 bridge pontoons just barely fitting through the Ballard locks is also a reminder of the engineering constraints on the project. Anything wider would've had to have been constructed on Lake Washington.

And if you're hankering for more video of giant floating slabs of concrete, after the jump we have five pontoons being floated from their casting facility in Aberdeen, WA:

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That first one is showing up as an Alaskan Way Viaduct rebuild for me.

Posted by Ben on September 21, 2012 at 11:34 AM

@1, clear your cache, restart your browser.

This pisses me off, because if I'd known about it I would have been there on the rail, watching. Look at that thing go! Too cool!

Posted by Fnarf

on September 21, 2012 at 12:03 PM

As it's floating away, it reminds me of the first star destroyer in the beginning of Star Wars.

Posted by nerdynerdnerd on September 21, 2012 at 12:11 PM

No video just still photos, but check out the White Sands transiting the locks

Posted by Merchant Seaman on September 21, 2012 at 12:29 PM

@2: It apparently cleared up on its own. Weird, though, not like I spend a lot of time poking around on WSDOT's videos.

Posted by Ben on September 21, 2012 at 12:43 PM

Not to be too much of a nitpicking engineering geek, but they're not floating slabs of concrete. They're hollow boxes.

And the width of the canal was indeed one of the primary controlling design criteria.

Posted by Looking For a Better Read on September 21, 2012 at 4:19 PM