May 19th 2015 update:

Friends and Fans of the Lesner Bridge Project:

The heat and beach weather have finally arrived, so you can officially put snow plows and ice and sand and salt out of your mind. Progress on the Lesner Bridge Replacement Project is moving onward, and we continue to receive a number of requests for information and updates – to which we gladly respond.

Below is the latest collection of facts and figures and other details – – updated for your reading pleasure – from Chris Wojtowicz, poster boy and mayor of “Wojo’s World.” Please give this a look when you have the time, and feel free to let Chris or me know if you have any questions or need more information.

As a reminder, we are regularly updating information on our WEB page at: http://www.vbgov.com/lesner-bridge. You can also follow us on Twitter at: @lesnerbridge.

If you know of someone who would like to be added to our update list, please have them get in touch with me at this e-mail address and I will be glad to add them.

Please feel free to pass this along to others. Thanks again for all of your patience throughout this project.

Enjoy the summer weather. . . AND STAY SAFE!

Drew Lankford
Media and Communications
Department of Public Works
City of Virginia Beach

dlankfor@vbgov.com
(O) 757.385.8062
(C) 757.409.4353

The bridge contractor has completed the erection of the temporary steel falsework between Pier #1 and Abutment A (this is near 3556 On The Bay condominiums) and has installed the support towers that the gantry trusses will rest on. The large yellow girders for this gantry crane will begin to be assembled on the beach next week. Once assembled, they will be moved to the temporary steel falsework to complete the assembly of the gantry crane.

Temporary Falsework Tower Support at Pier #1

Pre-casting of the bridge segments at Atlantic Metrocast in Portsmouth, VA is now on a regular production schedule. 40 of the 177 bridge segments have been cast. In other words, we now have enough segments to complete 2 of the 10 spans in the westbound bridge and will likely have the third span complete by Memorial Day. As soon as the gantry crane is assembled, the contractor will begin delivering the segments to the project site.

The foundation work on the westbound bridge continues. All of the drilled shafts for Pier #4 have been installed and the Contractor is anticipating the completion of the drilled shafts at Pier #5 by 5/21/2015. There are 9 piers per bridge, therefore the Contractor is already past the halfway mark in the drilled shaft installation.

Drilled Shaft Installation at Pier #5 (Temporary Trestle being assembled in background as preparation for foundation construction at Pier #7)

Over the next two weeks, the bridge contractor will;

Ø Mobilize the utility barges and drilling equipment to Pier #7 (east side of the Federal Channel in the Lynnhaven Inlet);

Ø Mobilize cranes to Abutment B (next to the former Duck Inn site) to prepare for driving piles for the abutment foundation and temporary retaining wall;

Ø Continue work on the temporary overhead crane installation at the Lynnhaven Dredge Material Storage Site;

Ø Dewater the cofferdam at Pier #3 and begin construction of the concrete cap at this pier location;

Please note, that when the Contractor begins installing the temporary retaining wall on the east side of Lesner Bridge next to Shore Drive he will have to temporarily close the outside lane of WB Shore Drive between Page Avenue and the bridge. All this work will be performed at night between the hours of 9:00 PM and 5:00 AM.

Through these project updates we’ve discussed a lot about the construction of the new bridges. Now as the project moves along we will be providing some information on the aesthetics of the new bridge – how the new bridge will look once complete. The new bridge will have a coating (TexCote® 300 Bridge Cote® ) Palomino Beige in color that will give the bridge a “finished” look as well as a protective layer to help protect the concrete from the elements as well as graffiti. The first application of this coating will be applied to the MSE wall near 3556 On the Bay Condominiums and Abutment A also located in this area.

Bridge Coating – TexCote® 300 Bridge Cote® (Palomino Beige shown in upper left panel)

One last bit of information. We have posted a 3D animation of the bridge construction sequence on our website at http://www.vbgov.com/lesner-bridge The link is posted on the right side of the page under ADDITIONAL INFORMATION and is titled “Lesner Bridge Construction Sequence Animation”. This animation has been prepared using the expected sequence of construction to be used by the Contractor and shows – in scale – the relative size of the new bridges compared to the old bridges and how the traffic patterns will change over time as we move through the 5 phases of construction (we are in Phase 2 right now). We are also preparing a presentation that we will present periodically to the general public on the weekend. Dates and location have not yet been determined, but once we have the schedule we will post to the City’s website as well as send via this email update. This schedule and presentation will also be made available to the Bayfront Advisory Committee.

Drive Safely!

-Chris

Christopher J. Wojtowicz, P.E.
Project Manager
City of Virginia Beach
Department of Public Works
Municipal Center-Bldg 2
2405 Court House Drive
Virginia Beach, VA 23456-9031
Phone: (757) 385-5785
Fax: (757) 385-5668
email: cwojtowi@vbgov.com