First layer of asphalt down near Rodanthe!

NC 12 Near Rodanthe: After Irene and Now

Here's what NC 12 near the town of Rodanthe looked like after Hurricane Irene came calling:

And here's what it looks like now, since work started on repairing the dunes and laying in the road bed:

Here's what it looks like on the ground, as the work to repair the area of NC12 known as the "S-Curves" continues:

 See all today's photos from the ground on our Flickr site.


Thanks to our Photogrammetry Unit for the cool aerial photos.  What's "photogrammetry?" Here's a video with the 4-1-1:

Cool New Aerial Shot of the Pea Island Breach

This shot from the NCDOT Photogrametry Unit shows the progress on the temporary bridge on NC 12.

Today's Update:

 

Bulkheads Completed!

At the Rodanthe breach area, crews continued shaping the sand embankments at the S-curves to the correct elevation for the roadway. Sandbag installation was completed on the sound side at the S-curves.  Installation continues at the south end of the Pea Island breach. Crews began the fine grading of the road bed in preparation of asphalt paving later this week, weather permitting. Asphalt trucks from RPC Consulting out of Kitty Hawk are being brought over on the Stumpy Point-Rodanthe emergency ferry route beginning today. In total, approximately 100 truckloads of asphalt will use the ferry between today and Thursday, Oct. 6.

At the temporary bridge location on Pea Island, crews drove 8 piles at bent 1. Bents are substructures supporting each end of the bridge span. The driving template for the foundation at the south end of the bridge was set. An additional 52 feet of the bridge truss was assembled and the bridge was launched another 80 feet to the south.

Pilings

 

Bridge Truss Spans

Concrete Footings
 

Halfway Across the Breach!!

These photos just came in today...

...showing the progress of the temporary bridge at Pea Island!

More photos are up on our Flickr page

Where does the asphalt go?

UPDATE: Our ops folks say that they have now decided to place a layer of asphalt on top of the bridge deck to provide more non-skid protection in wet weather. That will also make the ride quality across the metal deck panels better.

Recently, one of our followers on Twitter asked how we would put asphalt on the temporary bridge being installed at the breach on Pea Island. It’s hard enough explaining technical engineering details, let alone in 140 characters so we thought we’d get into a bit more detail here.

Our chief of operations says assembling the bridge is sort of like putting together a stage at a country music concert.  It has panels that are placed on a framework that extends out across the water.  That becomes the actual surface that cars and other vehicles will ride across.  That’s part of what makes the structure temporary.  So, no asphalt is needed.  At least for the bridge.

Down the road several miles, it’s a different story.  Hurricane Irene cut several other breaches near the town of Rodanthe, in a section of the highway known to locals as the S-curves. There, the protective dunes are being rebuilt, the crumbled, destroyed asphalt removed, and the bed for the road is being built up and replaced. In this section of N.C. 12, we will be putting down new asphalt where the roadway was washed away.

So, while most of the attention has been on construction and completion of the interesting and unique temporary bridge, the highway can’t reopen until all parts of the project are finished, including repair of the S-curves. 

There are several sections of roadway at each end of the temporary bridge where we are building the road above the current highway that will need new asphalt as well.

Weather is acting up this week. Yesterday, all but the sandbagging had to stop for a while because of thunderstorms.  Rain isn't great for taking pictures either, and apparently salty air isn't great for digital cameras! As soon as we have new pics, we'll get 'em up.

In the meantime, here are the latest stats:

Piling:  53 piles driven out of 82 total piles.

Concrete Footings:  6 footings poured out of 12 total footings.

Bridge Bearing Supports:  0 bearings installed out of 12 total bearing supports.

Bringing in Reinforcements

Crews on the NC 12 restoration project worked through the weekend and in the rain and they've made significant progress. Nonetheless, rain is forecast through this week, so our contractor partner Carolina Bridge Co. has called in an additional night crew, scheduled to begin tonight, to help make up for any lost time.

Check out today's NCDOT Now which features the NC 12 project this week.

Today's key stats:

Pilings
 
Bulkheads
 
Footings




Bridge Truss Spans