Several photographs from inside the mast of the tower crane on the Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville, Kentucky being built by Walsh Construction
Tag: bridge pier
Billy, David and David
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In the HDR image David Figueroa and Billy Baughman are monitoring the progress that David Morse is making on the drilling of this pier. They are close to the final depth and are clearing out the debris in the hole before taking measurements to determine if they are deep enough into the bedrock.
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In this HDR image David Morse is measuring the depth of the drill shaft as his assistant and Oiler, David Figueroa , looks on. David is using a tape measure fitted with a weight, known as a plumb bob, that allows him to probe the bottom of the hole to attain accurate measurements. Once they are satisfied that the depth is correct they will clear the rest of the mud and rocks from the drilled shaft and turn it over to the Ironworkers who will place a caisson in the shaft in preparation for filling it with concrete.
Bothe of these images are three frame bracket sets using -2, 0 and +2 EV exposures which were merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and finished in Aperture 3.
Lowering the Caisson into the Pier Casing
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This HDR image shows the 60 foot long caisson as it is being guided, by the Ironworkers and Carpenters, into place inside the pier casing. After placing the caisson the next step will be to fill the pier with concrete. The steel casing sits on the river bottom and then the caisson fits into a rock socket has been bored 30 feet below the casing into the bedrock of the river bottom. This makes the total length on the pier nearly 60 feet from the surface to the base. The iron cylinder is there to both guide the drill during drilling and to form a protective shell for the pier once the bridge is built.
This image is from a three frame bracket set using -2, 0 and +2 EV settings. I merged the bracket set in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 and because the workers were moving quite a bit I had to apply 80% anti-ghosting to isolate them and remove the ghosts of their arm movement. After merging and some mild tone-mapping in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 I returned the merged file to Aperture 3 where I completed my processing by adjusting contrast, alignment, sharpening and the individual color channels to achieve the look I wanted for the final image.
Caisson Pick
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Yesterday morning the caisson for the bridge pier, 6R2, was moved into place inside the 12 foot diameter steel casing that will protect the bridge piers from damage once the bridge is finished and the river channel is reopened. The rebar caisson is over 60 feet long and moving it requires excellent coordination between the crane operator and the crew on the ground. The caisson must be precisely placed so that the connections to the next components of the tower can be completed. Not only are there Ironworkers involved but additionally there are Carpenters, Pile Drivers and Surveyors that have specific roles to play when these caissons are positioned. The men in the foreground are surveyors whose role is to make sure that the attachment points are properly aligned by accurately measuring exactly where the caisson is situated in the bore. Once all that is completed the cylinder will be poured full of concrete and the pier will be ready for the next piece to be attached.
This is a three frame bracket set of images shot at -2, 0 and +2 EV. The three images were merged in NIK HDR Efex Pro 2 to create the HDR image. After merging and tonemapping the image was returned to Aperture 3 for final processing.
Ironworkers
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This shot is looking east with the Big Four Bridge in the background. The iron structure the ironworkers are building will be placed inside one of the steel cylinders that are in the righthand side of the image. There is a completed one on the barge behind the one where they are working. The hexagonal piece on the end is a jig to align the steel rebar while they assemble it.
This image is a single frame that was edited in Aperture 3 and Topaz Adjust. I wanted to capture the early morning fog and the light as the sun was coming up. The early morning on the river is a peaceful quiet time before the sun gets up in the sky and the temperature starts rising.
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