Category: Construction Photography

The Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span August 24-29, 2015

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Nick Roberts

The Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project. HDR Version

Last week the Ohio River Bridges Downtown Span grew another 180 feet in length. The cable stays on Tower Five were completed and the scaffolding to the top of the towers was removed. One of the cranes being used to build the bridge structure blew an engine but that didn’t keep the structural gang from completing the building of another 45 feet of bridge.

Operating Engineers Carl Ernst and Nan Grant removing a blown engine from the crane.

Carpenters building a walkway for the approach to the downtown span.

Ironworkers setting a floor beam for the downtown span

Mike Salsman starting the floor beam pick.

Ironworkers setting a floor beam for the downtown span #2

Morning prep for hanging structural beams.

Picking a side girder for the downtown span

Ironworkers setting a floor beam for the downtown span #3

Ironworkers setting a floor beam for the downtown span #4

Trey Dewitt and Barry Clifford setting a a side girder for the downtown span

Picking a side girder for the downtown span #3

Ironworker, Trey Dewitt, bolting the side girder in place.

Overlooking the Kentucky approach to the downtown span

The downtown span is nearly complete. #2

Louisville skyline seen from atop toer thtree.

Looking north from the western tower on pier three.

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four.

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #2

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #3

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #4

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #5

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #6

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #7

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #8

Cable stay gang and carpenters on pier four. #9

The photos in this post are both three frame HDR mergers and single frame images. In all cases the image was first adjusted for sharpness and color saturation in Adobe Camera Raw followed by a trip into Photoshop CS5 for lens correction when needed. I also used Topaz Clarity to bring out the texture and contrast which I applied to a separate layer; in several cases the opacity of the Topaz Clarity layer was reduced to between 25 -75%.

Eric Faulkner Operating Engineer

Posted on August 23, 2015 by Nick Roberts

Eric Faulkner in the forklift on the bridge. — Eric Faulkner, Operating Engineer, in the forklift on the bridge.

Click on the image to enlarge it.

Toady’s image is of Eric Faulkner an Operating Engineer on the Ohio River Bridges Project. Downtown Span. I chose this image because I like the composition and the way Eric can be seen in the cab of the forklift while in the background the louisville skyline is seen through the window. The narrow slot where Eric can be seen and the fact that it takes a second to see him in there are both elements that draw me to this photo.

Eric is one of those people who are often overlooked when observing a construction job like this. Because he is inside a machine such as this forklift he becomes simply another part of the scene. His expertise with all manner of heavy equipment makes him an invaluable part of the day to day tasks that must be accomplished in order for the work to progress in a timely manner. Not only is Eric responsible for operating this forklift he also has the task of operating the two job cranes located on top of the bridge towers on Pier Three. He often has to climb the 300 feet of scaffolding several times a day to get to the top of one of the towers to lift material for the people working on the cable stay gang. Imagine climbing 30 stories to get to the top of one of the towers to run the jib crane then having to climb back down and then climb up the other tower just to operate that jib crane for a few minutes. Along with that role he may need to also climb into the forklift and move material around the bridge deck between times he is on top of the towers.

Progress of the Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project.

Posted on August 23, 2015August 23, 2015 by Nick Roberts

This group of images shows the progress of the Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project. The bridge deck is nearing completion as the Ironworker’s Structural Gang and Cable Stay Gangs extend the bridge decks on all three towers toward one another. It won’t be long until all the structural steel and cables are in place and the bridge will be one piece from shore to shore.