Smooth pouring

Smooth pouring How do you fill a 10-foot diameter hole that is just 11/16 of an inch shy of 87-feet deep and is sitting in 20 feet of water? How do you fill a 10-foot diameter hole that is just 11/16 of an inch shy of 87-feet deep and is sitting in 20 feet of water? Jensen Construction workers, who are building the Newcastle/Vermillion Missouri River bridge, have the exact answer! They hauled 1,128,000 pounds (282 yards) of concrete out to the middle of the river last Wednesday, Nov. 1, and filled the hole that will make up pier five of the new bridge. Their two push boats and barges are pictured above, coming and going. Each barge carried about 12 yards per trip in four three-yard concrete buckets that were lifted and emptied by cranes on barges anchored on the site. The loading and unloading of the barges never stopped, requiring a steady stream of concrete ready mix trucks making the round trip from Vermillion all day long. The pour went smoothly, according to Steve Ulmer, bridge construction supervisor, and the drill shaft for the next pier is already under way.