How the 600 meter long bridge was removed

The Dhaka Times Desk It may be possible with giant monsters in the movies, but in reality people are removing a 6'00 meter long bridge, it may be difficult for many to believe. America's Shellwood Bridge, 1971 feet or 6'00 meters long and 75 feet or 23 meters wide, was removed without the help of any cosmic monster. It is an unprecedented technique of architecture!

The Shellwood Bridge was built over the Willamette River in 1925 to facilitate communication between the two parts of Portland, Oregon, USA. The bridge connects Shellwood and Westmoreland areas separated by the river. Since its construction, the two-lane bridge has become one of the most used bridges in the state of Oregon. But like everything, bridges also have a wear and tear. After 1960, the condition of the bridge gradually deteriorated. The work was also being continued. But how long can be run with clapping! In the mid-1980s, a rift appeared. The load-carrying capacity gradually decreased, in the 1980s 32 tons or more were declared unfit for bridges, which came down to just 10 tons in 2004.

Multnomah County, Oregon, which oversees the Shellwood Bridge, decided to begin repairs by 2012 due to the poor condition of the bridge. But in October 2011, a survey by the Transport Department said that if the repair work of Shellwood is not started from this moment, an accident can happen at any moment.

After that, the process of removing the nearly eighty-year-old Shellwood Bridge for repairs began. January 19, 2012. Engineers opened the junction of the two sides of the bridge and started the process of moving them to each other. First, a path is made to push the bridge to the designated location for repairs. A large structure like a bridge is made slippery with Teflon pads and copious amounts of liquid soap to make it easier to move. 40 hydraulic jacks capable of lifting 150 tons are used. Hydraulic jacks lift the bridge and place it on a sloping steel structure. The steel structure was shaped like a ski slope. And where the structure ended, the slippery slope for Shellwood began. As a result, the bridge slowly starts to descend down the inclined structure and the kinetic energy or momentum inertia transmitted from the structure, drags it down the designated slippery path. But not only inertia, but every moment of movement some additional hydraulic jack was pushing the bridge back. Interestingly, the entire process is completed in just 14 hours.