Bill Russell Bridge | North Washington St.

Are those new steel posts in the water permanent or for the new bridge?
 
They are for the temporary bridge.

Does anyone know what that white material is that is at the north end of the temporary bridge? You can see it a little bit in the background of the 2nd photo. It looks like Styrofoam when you see it up close, but it looks like they are assembling it as the foundation of the temporary bridge.
 
C-Town_Jeff said:
They are for the temporary bridge.

Does anyone know what that white material is that is at the north end of the temporary bridge? You can see it a little bit in the background of the 2nd photo. It looks like Styrofoam when you see it up close, but it looks like they are assembling it as the foundation of the temporary bridge.
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Can't give a solid answer without seeing it better/in person but sounds like geofoam, which would make sense. Just as you describe, it's "Styrofoam" filler used in construction as a lightweight alternative to soil, so that the surrounding soil, infrastructure, and structural components aren't damaged by the weight of the temporary passageway if it were just soil.
 
C-Town_Jeff said:
They are for the temporary bridge.

Does anyone know what that white material is that is at the north end of the temporary bridge? You can see it a little bit in the background of the 2nd photo. It looks like Styrofoam when you see it up close, but it looks like they are assembling it as the foundation of the temporary bridge.
Click to expand...

Those are EPS blocks (expanded polystyrene). They are lightweight but can take a load. My company built a 20'-tall retaining wall out of them during the Whittier Bridge reconstruction because it was cheaper than digging out all the organics under the wall (or putting the wall on piles).
Fun Fact #1 - there was a drainage culvert nearby that backed up and caused water to get behind/under the retaining wall and it started to float. We had to park vehicles on it until we could pin the blocks down.
Fun Fact #2 - EPS will basically melt away if you pour gasoline on it. So you need to coat it with something that will keep vehicle fuel off of it in the event of an accident. I noticed JF White covering the blocks with what looked like I thick plastic blanket of some kind. For a more permanent solution contractors use an EIFS system (often times just something simple like shotcrete).
 
Say bye-bye to one of the most rusted out antiquated bridges in Boston. Goodbye!! :wink::wink:
 
Love what this area is going through. Buildings are great, but this is people moving - autos, bikes, peds. It’s exciting to see this area of the city bloom from the emptiness and rotted wood pile ons of previous decades. Converse seems to have started it all with its pioneering project with boardwalk and the area took off from there. Magnificent.
 
Hey, someone report those construction guys for playing in the playground when they should be working!
 
Looks like the playground is open.

IMG_20191004_152829.jpg
 
statler said:
I just realized that they took their design cue from the architectural masterpiece that is the TD Garden.
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To me it seems an echo of the current bridge's center span. But really (and mostly) just a way to break up what's going to be a long bike/walk across the bridge into 3 phases rather than one long windswept span.
 
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