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First of nearly 100 support beams for Kingston’s third bridge crossing arrive

Click to play video: 'Massive support beams arrive in Kingston as city’s third crossing continues to take shape.'
Massive support beams arrive in Kingston as city’s third crossing continues to take shape.
WATCH: Kingston gets a massive delivery as the first of nearly 100 support beams arrive as the city's third bridge crossing continues to take shape – Feb 1, 2021

Construction of the third bridge crossing in Kingston reached another milestone on Monday.

The day saw a delicate delivery take place, as the first two of 96 concrete bridge girders arrived on the western shore of the construction site.

The pieces of the giant jigsaw puzzle continue to come together with the latest two. Bruce Cockerill is escort supervisor with DECAST, Ltd., the business that builds and transports the girders.

“The beams themselves are 50 metres long, give or take — they are not the same size,” Cockerill explained.

“They weigh anywhere from 78 metric tons to 84 metric tons.”

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Click to play video: 'Name of Kingston’s third river crossing could reflect the areas indigenous history'
Name of Kingston’s third river crossing could reflect the areas indigenous history

Cockerill says plenty of pre-planning goes into getting these beams or girders to town — including a nearly 350-km trek from Utopia, Ont., near Barrie, to the Limestone City.

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“I have been down here about six times previous to today to measure corners, to make sure we’re going to be able to get around the corners,” Cockerill told Global News. “Check different routes to see if a different way is more easier to get around. And it’s not just me, it’s several people.”

Maybe the trickiest maneuver involved the trucks turning from Sir John A Macdonald onto John Counter.

Cockerill crunches the numbers.

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“These two loads that came into here today, they are about 197 feet long, and when we do our work ahead of schedule, before we bring them we measure all the corners and that corner is the tightest corner on this whole route,” Cockerill said.

“From where we measure to where we were actually going around the corner, we were about 205 feet.”

The next girders to arrive will be on Wednesday, and then dozens more will make the journey over the course of several months.

Click to play video: 'Work on Kingston’s third bridge crossing continues despite Covid-19'
Work on Kingston’s third bridge crossing continues despite Covid-19

 

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