Crowds gawk as new Hastings bridge is maneuvered into place
A state transportation official compared it to parallel parking a 6.5 million pound piece of equipment. Barges floated the main span of a new Hastings bridge down the Mississippi River and maneuvered it into place over the weekend. The span had been assembled upstream. It now sits alongside the existing bridge. There's more work to be done before it opens to traffic next spring.
Bridges are usually stationary and people move across them. But this weekend in Hastings people sat on the Mississippi River banks and watched a bridge float by.
The new bridge was assembled upstream. Building it there and floating it into place minimizes the time that the existing bridge is out of commission. The old bridge will reopen to traffic on Tuesday. It will stay in use until the new one is ready next spring.
The Hastings Star Gazette has been live streaming the move.
The state Transportation Department has a wealth of details about the $120 million project at its website.
