|
Note: these are in order with most recent at the
top. If you want to start at the beginning, click
here. to go to the bottom of this page.
Thursday, March 30, 2000 |
|
| The men and women who brought us the Year 2000 version of the Duluth
Aerial Lift Bridge |
| 
|
|
 |
Above, the men and women who brought us the Year 2000 version of the
Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge. Below, the last spire is reattached to
the north tower as the crane across the street salutes the bridge.
|
|
|
 |
 |
| Thursday, March 30, 2000: The Indiana
Harbor came under the 'new' Duluth Aerial Lift Bridge Thursday March
30 at 7:21 PM. Everything worked great except the new horn which is
very wimpy. At the left is the Indiana Harbor making her turn into
the harbor. In the greeting group, at the left is Paul Johnson, Project
Manager for the bridge constuction, center back is Joe Litman, consulting
engineer for the project from LHB Engineers and at the right is Dennis
Techlin, project foreman. Dennis leaves for his next project in Milwaukee
tomorrow morning . In the center is Duluth Shipping News and Marine
Museum chief in charge of keeping things going, and everything else,
Mary George. |
|
 |
March
29, 2000: At the other end of the man-basket at left is the crane
across the Bridge from the Duluth Shipping News.
|
|
| 
|
Monday, March 27: Workers made several
successful partial lifts Monday afternoon, preparing for installation
of the chains early Tuesday morning. Work will close the bridge
Tuesday morning for these hours:
1 to 2:30 AM and 2:45 to 3:45
AM |
|
| Saturday, March 24:
Saturday morning and Jim and Steve from J & S
Steel put one of the balance chains together. Four chains will be
attached to the two counterweights around 2 AM Tuesday morning.
Then a test lift.
Workers were unable to attach the chains and lift
the bridge on Sunday morning. Another attempt will be made very
early, Tuesday morning. The bridge will be closed to traffic during
the following hours on Tuesday morning for this procedure: |
1 to 2:30 AM and 2:45 to 3:45
AM |
 |
|
|
Greetings from "The Crane Across the Street"
3/07/2000
Hello again from "The Crane Across The Street" I heard
Duluth was a cold place to be in March. Well today it was almost
70 degrees. When I boomed over the bridge this afternoon, all I
could see was long underwear hanging in the warm-up shack on the
top of the north side of the bridge. What a great day!
We were able to get all 4 of the 43,000
lb. shives up last week. The longest traffic delay was about 40
minutes. Almost everyone was patient and really didn't want to walk
or drive under those while they were being lifted into place. (Click
here for the rest of story direct from the Crane Across the Street
(from the Duluth Shipping News) Click
on picture for a close-up of the crane, the man basket, and the
sheaves |
|
| 
|
| High winds on Friday (March 3) kept the third sheave on the ground |
|
 |
|
Thursday, March 2: The first new sheave goes up.
|
|
|
 Wednesday
night, March 1, the Duluth Shipping News and the Lake Superior
Marine Museum Association hosted an evening of slides and conversation
regarding the Aerial Lift Bridge Rehab currently going on. At
left, Ken, Nick, Steve and Norm wait for the show to start. Norm,
a member of Iron Workers Local #563 does all the work, Steve,
the bridge operator makes sure all the work gets done, Nick, the
engineer, tells Norm what to do so Steve will be happy when they
all leave. Ken takes everybody's picture (except of course for
the one above.
|
|
The operator's house has a brand new console. Click
here for more new stuff. |
February 18, 2000: The bridge rehab is now working
the late shift as the shipping season is only about one month away.
|
|
 |
| February 16, 2000: It is hard to believe that in
just a few months, the front yard of the Corps of Engineers Building
at Canal Park will have green grass instead of cranes and snow and
trailers and sheaves. |
|
| 
|
| Monday, January
31, 2000: Lee Popovich of Duluth Steel Fabricators works on a part
of the column top that will eventually support the new sheaves when
they get moved to the top. |
|
Not all the work on the bridge gets done on the bridge.
|
 |
| Duluth Steel Fabrication
has been doing a lot of the specialty work on the new steel beams
that will soon be put in place. Above left, Brian Robinson and Dan
Grayber prepare a part of one sheave bearing support for welding.
Brian is heating up the steel to remove moisture prior to welding.
Above right, Dan Wegleitner works on another support. Note that
it is at an earlier stage. The same shaped steel is further along
in the process at the left and has been welded to other pieces of
the support. |
|
|
| Friday, January 28, 2000: Two
cranes and one oiler get comfort from the cold from Grandma's Keely
Heim. Actually, it is two crane operators. Berit Halverson, second
from the left, handles the large crane at the south end of the bridge
while his father Dene takes care of the crane at the north end. And
yes, Dene's crane is slightly bigger than Berit's (Bear), and Dene
also gets to put his arm around Keely. Oiler Kitty Ruzynski maintains
Dene's crane and every once in a while, he lets her stay inside his
warm cab, while he moves men and material around his end of the bridge
site. The crane (operator) takes on all crane questions on the Bridge
message board. |
|
|  January
19, 2000: All of the parts of the bridge that are to be replaced
or reworked have been removed. Some have been taken to the junk
pile, to be replaced by new equipment (the sheaves). Others have
been sent out for rehabilitation (the lift chains).
New equipment is arriving at the site and will be
continuously from now on. The above is a lifting girder or support
that will be placed on the top of the machinery room. The girder
will be attached to the new cables that will move the bridge up
and down. |
|
 |
January 21, 2000
The first of four sheaves is delivered
to the bridge site
|
December 31, 1999
|
|
 |
|
 Five
members of Duluth Ironworkers Local 563 ring out the new year by taking
down the last two sheaves from the Lift Bridge. Above, literally,
they are Mike 'Rivit' McDevitt and Gene Smith standing on the top
girder. Again above, the lower row of 3, is Jim 'Scrap' Meysman, Wayne
Elfin and Duane Godbout. At right, group portrait on firmer ground.
Click here for larger
version of picture. |
|
 |
| The last sheave descends from the bridge to the front
yard of the Corps of Engineers, only hours before the new Millennium
rises. |
|
 |
 December
30, 1999: The second of 4 sheaves is taken
off the bridge (the round pulley on the left middle above, and hanging
from the crane at right). Three of them were taken to a junk yard;
the fourth will be placed on the property of the Corps of Engineers
in Canal Park. New sheaves will be installed later. The sheaves act
as pulleys, allowing the cables that move the bridge up and down to
do their work. All the old cables are already off the bridge, as is
the balance chain. The cables will be replaced; the balance chain
will be inspected and repaired if needed. The two sheaves from the
north tower will be taken down on Friday. |
|
 |
| The second of 4 sheaves is taken off the bridge.
All four are original equipment (from 1929) and all will be replaced. |
|
|
Tuesday, December 21 |
|
|
Workers are build the platform, beneath the bridge, where painters
will paint the underside of the bridge. |
|
|
December 15, 1999 |
 |
| |
| The balence chain sits in my back yard,
waiting for its check-up. |
 |
|
|
December 15, 1999 |
Above left, the balance chain attaches to the 450 ton
counter weight, normally. At right, workers
unhook the chain in preparation for taking it down for a complete
inspection. |
 |
|
|
Friday, December 10, 1999 |
 |
| The crane literally dropped in on Grandmas
this morning (Friday, Dec 10). She (he,it) was down to get a new cable
and a fresh Amercan Flag. |
|
|
|
December 9, 1999 |
|
At
left, Duluth News Tribune
staff writer Martiga Lohn interviews crane operator Dene
Halvorson for a story that appeared in the Saturday, December
11th paper. Guess what he is pointing at.
Above, the very same crane operator and his oiler. |
|
|
Friday, December 3, 1999 |
|
| Two workers take a break from preparing the Lift
Bridge for its winter makeover. They are watching the Mecta Sea depart
Duluth. The Mecta Sea is better known to Duluthians as the Socrates,
a ship that ran aground off Park Point in 1985. The letters are still
visible under the new paint marking the ship as the Mecta Sea. This
ship was here two years ago, under the name of the Union. |
|
|
November 26, 1999 |
 |
|
|
Wednesday, December 1, 1999 |
 |
|
|
November 17, 1999 |
 |
| Above,
Jim 'Scrap' Meysman guides a girder as the crane prepares to lift
it up to the bridge. Scrap is one of the workers
who is preparing the Aerial Lift Bridge for its winter repair job.
(picture taken from inside Duluth Shipping News World Headquarters).
At the other end of the crane, Operating Engineer Dene operates the
crane while Operating Engineer Kitty maintains it. |
|
|
October 20, 1999 |
 On
Wednesday, while quietly sitting at my desk, I was jolted awake by
what I felt was the end of my time here on earth. Not to worry, it
was just the start of the Aerial Lift Bridge millennial repair. Good
thing it only happens every 100 years. At the left is the evil machine.
It can send out 35,000 pounds per square inch of water at a rate faster
than the speed of sound. The bridge will be cleaner when it is over,
hopefully later today (Thursday). The machine took a break yesterday
to allow the Lita to enter the harbor. |
|
|
October 9, 1999 |
 |
|
|
September 22, 1999 |
 |
| Dick Larson, Director of Public Works for Duluth,
speaks to a gathering of Park Point residents in September about the
upcoming rehabilitation of the Lift Bridge. |
|
Kenneth Newhams: World Wide
Web Design, Maintenance and Marketing
Contact Information
E-Mail Address: knewhams@duluthshippingnews.com
525 Lake Avenue South
Duluth, MN 55802 USA
Telephone: (218) 722-3119
© 1999 by Kenneth R. Newhams
|
