Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge construction hits milestone

The north and south sides of Big Sur are just a couple of months away from reconnecting, which was a surprise to Kimberly Krancvich, from Ohio.

“This has always been my dream to come to Big Sur. I’ve been tenting for the past month. I started out in Washington D.C., drove cross-country and the road’s closed,” Krancvich said.

Nonetheless, Krancivich said she is having a good time

“A little soul searching,” Krancvich said. “(I’m) trying to find myself.”

The Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge was demolished in March after winter storms triggered landslides, causing the bridge to buckle.

Crews are assembling girder pieces this week to make the metal beams that will support the new bridge.

“The segments, when they come here, they weigh about 60 tons and then we bolt them together using large splice plates and thousands and thousands of bolts,” said Caltrans engineer David Galarza.

Galarza said this heavyweight project is taking priority.

“We recognized that there was an emergency and we’re on a expedited track. The method of construction for these girders allows us to do that and fortunately for us, straight alignment coming in from the north end of the bridge that is designed to be straight facilitates the erection, assembly and launching of the plate barriers,” Galarza said.

Galarza said if all goes well, the girders will be ready to launch in about three weeks. It will be a slow process to make sure the pieces are aligned and that crews are doing all the complicated work safely.

Galarza said the bridge is on track to finish in late September.

And for Krancvich, this is a trip she will make again.

‘This is kind of a big opportunity for me to make this trip so it will probably be a few years, but I’ll definitely come back,” Krancvich said.