Photo credit: City of VictoriaOn February 6, the 151-foot span of the new Johnson Street Bridge rose to its full 77-degree angle for the first time, the Times Colonist reports. The bridge, which is designed to lift so that marine traffic can pass, had only been lifted to 20 degrees in a prior test the night before.
“The amazing thing is that it’s almost silent,” project director Jonathan Huggett told the news agency. “If somebody hadn’t told you it was rising, you wouldn’t have known.”
Some gravel and construction scraps fell from the span during the lifts, but minor problems were expected during the first few operations. “It’s normal,” Huggett told the news agency. “Everybody should know not to stand near when you lift something for the first time.
The first test had been conducted at night. “There was no way I was going to allow them to lift it for the first time in broad daylight with cameras rolling,” Huggett said, according to the news agency. “The last thing you need when the cameras are rolling is to have a ‘bang’ and then all of a sudden something goes wrong.”
The bridge project is expected to cost $105 million and should be open to vehicles by the end of March.
