Tacoma Narrows Bridge part begins final 300-mile journey

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. A bridge deck expansion joint -- stranded near landlocked Spokane, Washington, for more than three weeks -- began the final leg of its journey today.

The piece has been delayed because it's too heavy.It's being hauled to the new Tacoma (Washington) Narrows Bridge.Three cranes were used to hoist the 100-ton steel-and-neoprene bridge piece onto a longer, wider trailer. The reconfigured load is 200 feet long -- or about 50 feet longer than it was when it entered Washington -- to meet weight-to-axle requirements.

The original tractor-trailer load was halted at the Spokane Port of Entry because the weight wasn't correctly distributed.Big Boat Movers of Vasalla, Texas, worked for weeks to come up with a configuration that would spread the weight.Omega-Morgan Rigging and Industrial Contracting of Tacoma was eventually hired to help finish the job.

Source