FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Emmert International Completes Pump Station Relocation To Provide Clearance For The 3rd Tacoma Narrows Bridge

CLACKAMAS, Ore. — April 13, 2004 — The builders of the 3rd Tacoma Narrows Bridge (Galloping Gertie was the first and the current bridge the second) were faced with a challenging decision: they had to clear the space occupied by the wastewater pump station to make room for the roadway, and couldn't decide if they should relocate the structure or tear it down and build a new one. The Emmert team made their decision an easy one when they developed a plan for relocating the structure and saving hundreds of thousands of dollars vs. demolishing the existing structure and rebuilding.

Significant challenges included:

• The structure had a basement, and Emmert had to develop a way to get a temporary support structure and moving system underneath the building.


• A concrete trough hung underneath the building, making it difficult to establish full contact between the support system and the building.


• The structure had a cantilevered end joined to the building with a cold joint, which required special care and support during the entire process of the relocation.


• Shoring had to be designed to stabilize the building from the inside and to stabilize the loading door openings and the floor supporting a large tank in the cantilevered end of the building.


• Multiple moving systems, including rollers and dollies, had to be utilized to accomplish the relocation of the structure.



• The building had to rotated about two-hundred and eighty degrees, pulled at different angles, and moved about 275 feet to place the building on spot and in alignment with underground pipes.


• A hazard analysis had to be developed to identify the way work would be accomplished during each step of the job, the hazards related to the work to be done during each of those steps had to be listed along with the preventative measures and training that would be done to mitigate those hazards.

Emmert successfully completed this job during the winter months to keep the summer months clear for bridge and roadway construction. Emmert innovation and creativity led to the completion of this job and saved the public hundreds of thousands of dollars in construction expense.