Changing the face of Charleston : The unbuilding of the Grace and Pearman Bridges
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Unbuilding Highlights
(Apr 10)
Meeting St. Stories
(Jul 10 2006)
East Bay Stories
(Oct 10 2006)
Drum Island Stories
(Feb 17)
Pearman Bridge Stories
(Apr 3)
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(Apr 3)
Imposions: Prep and boom
(Mar 27)
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(July 23 2006)
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(Feb 20)
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(Mar 13)
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(Feb 28)

August 26, 2005:
Girder removal process of the Pearman on-ramp: Cooper and Lee Streets (from Sparky Witte).

The five remaining girders are removed one at a time using two grapples - the right one stabilizes the girder while the left one pulls it away from the pier cap

You can see the left side pulled back while the right side begins to drop

and here the two grapples gently lay the girder down

And now there are four - with grapples at each end

The left side pulled back while the right side drops

and sort of put to bed

and now there are three

with the third gently lowered to the ground

Removing the last edge girder - the right grapple stabilizes the girder while the left grapple disrupts the structural integrity

by pulling the left segment back

and then a controlled drop

Nice job - and all removed

Removing the Piers and Cap

Our Testa surgeon grabs the left side of the pier cap

Pulls it forward a bit

and a little more

releases and a small free fall

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Attribution: C. Frank Starmer and Sparky Witte from http://oldcooperriverbridge.org