Building a record-high bridge

Juneau Creek Bridge looks set to claim two records. The new bridge is being assembled 87 meters up in the air with a large dose of engineering skill.

Alaska’s record-high bridge, Juneau Creek Bridge, has reached an important milestone. This summer, the bridge, which is part of the SEK 8.5 billion Cooper Landing Bypass road project, was launched across a canyon in a single piece.

Work began with assembling the steel girders on one side and then pushing them across to the other side step by step.

The bridge will be 282 meters long, 87 meters high, and 19 meters wide. Construction requires just over 3,000 tons of structural steel, 500 tons of reinforcing steel, 7,600 tons of concrete, and more than 35,000 bolts, as well as a large dose of engineering skill.

When the project is complete, it will be able to claim the title of Alaska’s tallest bridge. It will also be the longest single bridge structure built in the state since 1982. And it will most likely be the longest incrementally launched bridge in North America.

Next up: pouring the deck

The next major phase will be pouring the bridge deck in summer 2027.

In total, the project includes about 16 kilometers of new road, wider shoulders, passing lanes, and Alaska’s first wildlife overpass. The new bypass replaces an old road from the 1940s and ’50s that can no longer handle today’s traffic.

Crews expect to finish the SEK 1.5 billion bridge in 2028, and the entire bypass will open in 2032.