If you’ve driven by the Golden Valley Road Bridge Widening construction site lately, you may have noticed less activity and equipment.

Rest assured, the project is still moving ahead at “full speed.” Complicated projects such as this have a very specific construction sequence and a detailed schedule of construction activities that guides the project from beginning to completion. This project is on schedule.

To help explain the apparent disappearance of construction crews and heavy construction equipment, the following is a breakdown of the work that’s taken place on the Golden Valley Road Bridge since November, its current state and where it’s heading next:

November

On November 9, the bridge superstructure was completed, followed by a few weeks of night work to remove the falsework system previously needed to support the bridge during construction. The removal process was completed on December 8. Most of the work was done at night as full closures of the northbound and southbound State Route 14 lanes were required.

Current Stage

The bridge is currently completing a 60 day waiting period necessary before a deck closure slab can be placed between the new structure and the existing bridge. This closure pour will join the two sides together, making the north and south portions of the bridge one.

However during this “down time,” crews have begun performing work below the bridge on the State Route 14 median area, slopes below the bridge are being graded and concrete slopes will be paved. Shortly thereafter, concrete railings will be installed along the northbound on-ramp and widening of the ramp will begin.

Future Stages

Once the 60 day waiting period is complete, approximately Jan. 15, crews will be able to place the closure pour (mentioned above), backfill the abutments, place the concrete approach slabs, and finish the remaining bridge elements such as concrete barriers, sidewalks, chain link railing, lighting, medians, restoration of the affected park-and-ride lots, Golden Valley Road on each side of the bridge and etc., providing a complete, wider bridge for the motoring public.

At completion, the Golden Valley Road Bridge widening project will add an additional two lanes of travel, one in each direction, for a total of four through lanes on the bridge, as well as a dedicated left turn lane to access the southbound State Route 14 and two left turn lanes to access the northbound State Route 14. This project will also add a pedestrian walkway on the north side of the bridge and a bike path on the south side of the bridge.

To watch the expansion of the Golden Valley Road Bridge online, check out the live construction cam on the city’s website.