The I-90 Lake Washington floating bridges connect the east side to Seattle. As a vital corridor for commuters and freight, keeping the bridges open is vital to the economy.
While the bridges float on pontoons, they're held in place by long steel cables. There are 108 cables that extend from the bridges to large anchors at the bottom of the lake. The bridges are regularly subjected to strong winds and waves, which puts stress on the cables.
Over time, the cables start to wear out and must be replaced.
In summer 2015, contractor crews are replacing 21 of the cables that are frayed and corroded.
Learn more about the I-90 anchor cable replacement project at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/floatingbridgesanchorcables/
Tags: I-90 floating bridges anchor cable replacement Lake Washington
Contractor crews working for WSDOT are replacing 21 of the 108 anchor cables on the I-90 floating bridges across Lake Washington.
The cables extend from the floating bridges to large anchors embedded in the bottom of the lake. They help stabilize the bridges against wind and waves.
The new cables are coiled up in large spools and stored on the work barge until they're ready to be replaced.
In a great example of "reduce, reuse and recycle," when it's time to replace a cable, the crew unspools the new one and temporarily attaches it to the bridge. After it's unspooled and staged, the old cable is disconnected, winched to the surface.. coiled up onto the same spool.
Learn more about the I-90 anchor cable replacement project at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/floatingbridgesanchorcables/
Tags: I-90 floating bridges anchor cable replacement Lake Washington
This heavy pieces of steel are part of the eyebars that connect a cable to the anchors on the floor of Lake Washington.
Contractors are replacing 21 of the 108 anchor cables that hold the I-90 floating bridges in place on Lake Washington.
An eyebar is attached to one end of the cable before it's lowered to the bottom of the lake.
The eyebars weigh between 250-300 pounds.
Learn more about the I-90 anchor cable replacement project: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/floatingbridgesanchorcables/
Tags: I-90 floating bridges anchor cable replacement Lake Washington eyebar
Contractors from Orion Marine are working on a project to replace 21 frayed anchor cables on the I-90 floating bridges.
The anchor cables help stabilize the bridge against wind and waves.
The cables are attached to large concrete anchors embedded on the lake floor and then securely attached inside pontoons.
This photo shows one of the anchor cables divers recently just replaced. Some of the steel strands are broken.
Learn more: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/floatingbridgesanchorcables...;
Tags: I-90 floating bridges anchor cable replacement Lake Washington frayed cables
To replace anchor cables on the I-90 Lake Washington floating bridges, the divers must work in a fairly hostile environment. It's dark and murky at the bottom of the lake.
A camera is mounted on the diver's helmet. It provides a live video feed which shows the crew back on the barge what the diver is seeing and doing.
This is photo of the monitor on the work barge showing the diver's hands.
The divers are replacing 21 of the 108 anchor cables that help stabilize the I-90 floating bridges against wind and waves.
Learn more at: www.wsdot.wa.gov/projects/i90/floatingbridgesanchorcables/
Tags: I-90 floating bridges anchor cable replacement diver Lake Washington