Images from the Kentucky Approach to the Downtown Span

Carpenters in Section One during construction of the columns for the Kentucky approach to the Downtown Span.
Carpenters in Section One during construction of the columns for the Kentucky approach to the Downtown Span.

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The first image in this post is looking southeast from within the Waterfront Park across River Road. The columns will carry the ramps as the three Interstate highways converge to move traffic onto the Downtown Span. The large tubes on lying on the ground are concrete forms that were used to build the columns.

As you can see there is a lot happening as the carpenters and ironworkers go about their trades to build these massive columns.Things were really moving fast around the Kentucky Approach to the Downtown Span of the Ohio River Bridges Project. In late February the weather was crazy; moving between balmy spring days and frigid winter days with snow and ice. The shots in this post were taken as work resumed after one of the snow storms and the light was amazing.

William Moylan at work surveying the towers for the Downtown Span
William Moylan at work surveying the towers for the Downtown Span

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One of the trades that people don’t often recognize is that of the surveyors. These men and women are members of the Carpenters Union and are a vital component of the project. Surveyors, like William Moylan, seen here on the plinth of Tower 3, are constantly monitoring and measuring the project to make certain that everything is properly aligned.

Surveying the towers
Surveying the towers

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This shot was taken after one of the deep freezes, that happened in February, had begun to thaw releasing mini icebergs into the river.The image shows some of the surveyor’s equipment up close. On this day Surveyor William Moylan was checking to make sure that his measurements were accurate using a newly calibrated tool. He told me that this device had confirmed that all the measurements they had taken so far are right on the money.

The new bridge towers are rising.
The new bridge towers are rising.

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This is the scene looking north from the Kentucky Approach. The point where I was shooting from is between the existing bridge and the new bridge’s towers. Just about eighteen months ago this same shot wouldn’t have shown the towers in the river or on the shore.

The new bridge towers are rising  for the Downtown Span
The new bridge towers are rising for the Downtown Span

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This image shows the six towers that will carry the new downtown span when the bridge is completed. In the middle ground you can see the section of road deck that has been installed on Tower Four and behind that can be seen the road deck structure on Tower Five.

All the images in this post are from the “normal” exposure of 0 EV in my HDR bracket set of -2, 0 and +2 EV exposures. By using Adobe Camera Raw I was able to process these images without resorting to merging all three frames into a single image.

 

 

 

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