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EmailCrews Build Main Span for New Hastings Bridge at Upriver Site
You probably see a lot of construction work going on as you make your way around the site of the new Highway 61 bridge over the Mississippi River in Hastings, but just upriver crews are working on part of the project that most people don't normally see.
Upriver from the main construction site, crews are building the main bridge span. When finished, the structure will weigh 600 million pounds - that's what about 50,000 elephants would weigh.
Barges will move it into place in late summer or early fall. However, that will take a while.
Kirsten Klein of MnDOT says it will take about 48 hours to move it from its current location onto the river, where it will sit for about a day. Then it will take about 48 to 60 hours to move it down to the bridge site.
About 30,000 vehicles a day will use the new bridge, which is replacing the 1950s-era structure. If all goes as planned, the bridge will be largely finished in 2013 at a cost of about $120 million.
Related: VIDEO: Chopper 5 Flies Over Hastings Bridge Construction
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