Sunday, June 14, 2026

Park Avenue Viaduct Replacement in New York CIty (NYC)

(Satellite, the viaduct is being replaced between here (115th Street) and 132 Street.)

Facebook Reel

Same Reel

Same Reel

MTA
"The MTA is repairing or replacing portions of the Park Avenue Viaduct between East 115 and East 132 Streets....The Park Avenue Viaduct is the elevated steel structure that carries four Metro-North Railroad tracks along Park Avenue between E 110 St and the Harlem River Lift Bridge."

Before:
Street View, Aug 2024

After:
MTA, this webpage has some photos of the existing viaduct and some videos of the replacement activity

A renovation was completed in 1999.
bechtel
"At the time of the rehabilitation, it carried nearly all Metro-North trains into and out of Grand Central Terminal — carrying approximately 600 trains and 160,000 passengers daily.... Modernizing the steel structure involved replacing the deck, upgrading support structures, and improving track geometry — all while keeping trains and commuters moving. With three of the four tracks remaining active during rush hour, space for construction was extremely limited. At times, it required the team to carefully coordinate the movement of 500 tons of steel in an area no larger than 4,000 square feet. Despite these constraints, Bechtel completed the six-year effort on schedule."

I noticed the Mi-Jack brand on the wheeled gantry cranes in the reel screen views at the top of these notes. I recognize that name as the wheeled gantries that are used to move containers in some railroad intermodal yards.
mi-jack, there are a couple of videos on this webpage.
" Working with the MTA, Halmar International used prefabricated construction and two custom 200-ton Mi-Jack RTG cranes to efficiently replace aging viaduct sections in active rail territory – resulting in Phase I finishing $93 million under budget and 21 months ahead of schedule....Spanning 1.25 miles and serving the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven lines, the structure is a critical link for daily commuter travel – leaving no margin for extended outages or construction delays during replacement work. During Phase I, crews replaced 8,240 feet of track across 128 bridge installations, which required lifting and positioning 190,000-lb bridge sections. Mi-Jack’s custom 200-ton gantry cranes enabled crews to efficiently lift out old steel and concrete deck segments and install prefabricated replacements within tightly controlled work windows, minimizing disruption of commuter services....Measuring approximately 30’L x 50’H x 98’W, the machines required a complex erection procedure due to the need to straddle one of the busiest rail corridors in the Northeast to perform bridge replacement."

Why didn't they replace the viaduct between 123rd and 127th Streets? That would have saved them the expense of moving the gantry cranes.
mi-jack
"Following the successful completion of Phase I, which replaced the viaduct from East 115th Street to East 123rd Street, Phase II is now underway. This next phase will focus on replacing the viaduct from East 127th Street to mid-block between East 131st and East 132nd Streets, with completion expected in 2027. To begin Phase II, the two Mi-Jack MJ200HD cranes had to be disassembled and relocated to East 128th Street – a complex operation requiring smaller cranes to lift and move the components. The top beams alone measure 94 feet in length and weigh approximately 83,000 pounds."

ConstructionDive
"The $590 million first phase, of which $500.9 million stemmed from federal funds, replaced the viaduct’s full substructure and superstructure between East 115th and East 123rd streets."
[So, the estimate must have been $683 if there was a $93m savings.]

Environmental impact studies continue to be a growth industry.
stvinc

Saturday, June 13, 2026

194mw Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ (SKQ)/Kerr Dam on Flathead River near Polson, MT

(Satellite)

GreasedMonkey75, Feb 2019

"The concrete arch-type dam stands at 204 feet high, which is 54 feet higher than Niagara Falls....The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are the first tribes in the nation to own and operate a major hydropower facility." The three units have a capacity of 194mw. [visitmt]

Melanie Blair, Aug 2017

I can't determine the design of the spillway gates. Are they sluice gates that go down?
Brad Lane, Jun 2021

The reservoir is called Flathead Lake.
MontanasFlaheadLake
YouTube Video

The powerhouse is on the west side of the little peninsula.
Satellite

Facebook Reel

Facebook Reel

They have probably opened more gates since May 31 since the reservoir was full. I think that is what the first reel is showing.
USACE

Friday, June 12, 2026

$84m Canyon Tunnel Collapse, Apr 14, 206, a Woman Worker Was Killed

Inlet: (Satellite)
Outlet: (Satellite)

The Canyon Tunnel is yet another water supply project in California.

The tunnel will be 12,000' (3.7km) long. The collapse was 200' (61m) into the tunnel. [modesto]

This scene is at the outlet.
2:14 video @ 1:08
3 impacted in Northern California tunnel collapse
One person is dead and another was taken to the hospital after a collapse at the Canyon Tunnel Project on Tuesday, the Modesto Fire Department said. A third person impacted by the collapse was unhurt.

The worker who was killed was 35-year-old engineering advisor Twyla Capurro. She is survived by two children.

The existing irrigation canal was cut into the side of steep Sierra foothills, and it is at risk for landslides and rockfalls falling into the canal and cutting off the water supply. The video contains scenes of workers removing rock from above the canal.
4:32 video @ 0:19
Canyon Tunnel Project | Introduction 2021 | Full Length

CanyonTunnelProject_FAQ
[This project website doesn't say boo about the collapse and the impact on the project.]

I've read before that the rock in California is "incompetent" because of all of the earthquakes. It seems that a risk of a tunnel collapse would be worse than the risk of a landslide in terms of the impact on the water flow. I hope they don't spend $84m in vain.

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Enlarged Erie Canal Lock #51 west of Jordan, NY

Lock: (Satellite)
Lock Tender House: (Satellite, it must have been moved. They are normally next to the lock so that the lock tender can respond to a boat during the night as well as the day.)


Cayuga County Trail Towns posted four photos with the comment: "Have you been out Jordan way lately? Lock 51 is looking great, all nice and clean with the grass cut and the island cleared off."
Jordan Historical Society & Museums: Our volunteers work closely with Onondaga County Parks, owner of the Lock 51 Park in an effort to keep it cleaned up. Thank you for noticing their efforts!
Kevin Yost shared
1

2

3

4

ErieCanal
"Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 51, Jordan, N.Y. -- east end, with the north chamber on the right, and the south chamber on the left. The lock locked down to the west, thus the usual three overflow openings are on the east end."
[Other photos indicate that it is the southern chamber that is extended.]

ErieCanal

Wednesday, June 10, 2026

$151m Sterling Highway Bridge over Juneau Creek south of Anchorage, AK

(Satellite)

Currently, as designed, the Juneau Creek Bridge will be the:

  • highest crossing in the state at 285 feet (Hurricane Gulch is approximately 250 feet)
  • longest single-span bridge in the state since 1982
  • longest erected and launched bridge in the state

Designer: DOT&PF      
Contractor: QAP-Traylor Joint Venture            
Award Amount: $151,000,000

[SterlingHighway]

liebherr

LiebherrConstruction posted
In the remote wilderness of Southern Alaska, innovation meets determination. 
The Juneau Creek Bridge, spanning an impressive 951 feet (290 m) is set to become one of the largest infrastructure projects in the state, transforming traffic flow and safety along the Kenai Peninsula. 
Read the full story to learn how Traylor Bros., Inc. utilized their Liebherr LR 1300.1 SX to keep this project on track: https://go.liebherr.com/7f87kg

liebherr
They have cranes on both sides of the ravine.

liebherr

AK-1 gets very congested with tourist traffic in Cooper Landing. The purpose of the new highway is to provide a bypass around Cooper Landing for traffic, especially trucks, going to the rest of the Kenai Peninsula.
SterlingHighway

And some big rigs are used to drill the piles for the bridge piers.
MalcolmDrilling

I'm glad to see at least one wildlife crossing.
sterling45-60

When I accessed the satellite image, they had the launch foundation and two gantry cranes built.
Satellite

And they have one of the crawler cranes assembled in a staging area.
Satellite

The wildlife crossing is an underpass.
MalcolmDrilling_summer-2024

I've been looking for an image that has people to provide scale for the girders. In fact, this video specifies that they are 13'3" (4m). The bridge uses 45 girders. This photo also shows that the tires on the gantry cranes are as tall as a person.
Instagram Reel

Jun 9, 2026 post:
Facebook Reel

1916 24mw Elephant Butte/Engle Dam on Rio Grande River near Truth or Consequences, NM

(Satellite)

Street View, Apr 2024

The outlet conduit in the spillway is running.
usbr
"Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir (originally called Engle Dam) is on the Rio Grande, 125 miles north of El Paso, Texas, can store 2,210,298 acre-feet of water to provide irrigation and year-round power generation. This is a concrete gravity dam 301 feet [92m] high and 1,674 feet [510m] long including the spillway. It contains 618,785 cubic yards of concrete. The dam was completed in 1916, but storage operation began in 1915.
"The power system consists of a 24,300-kilowatt hydroelectric powerplant at Elephant Butte Dam. A system consisting of 490 miles of 115-kilovolt transmission line and 11 substations totaling 81,750 kilovolt-amperes, which was developed and operated by the Rio Grande Project until 1977, has been sold to a private electric company.
"Geology
"Foundation: Hard, sound, fissured sandstone in irregular beds, containing pockets and interbedded strata of friable shale and numerous small springs throughout foundation area"

6:52 video @ 3:13
History of Elephant Butte Dam
It can hold over 2 million acre-feet of water.
When built, it was the second largest irrigation dam in the world, and it created the largest man-made reservoir ever built. [@ 1:17]

Facebook Reel

Same Reel

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Wabtec Test Track, NYC and US-20 Bridges over Sixmile Creek near Erie, PA

East Erie Commercial Railroad (Wabtec test track): (Satellite)
NYC: (Satellite)
NKP: (Satellite)
US-20: (Satellite)


The arch bridge carries the Wabtec/GE test track. On the other side of that bridge, we get a glimpse of the arch bridge of the CSX/NYC.
Street View, Apr 2024

Linda walked the Sixmile Creek from here to the South. So this is the creek view of the above scene.
Facebook Reel

After she pointed out the little waterfall and some snakes, a test train appeared on the Wabtec test track. I was surprised that Wabtec still uses the GE logo. Also, we can see clear through the NYC arch bridge.
Same Reel

The test train consisted of two blue and one BNSF locomotives.
Same Reel

After seeing a snake swimming in the creek, we get a closeup of the NYC Bridge.
Same Reel

Another view of the NYC arch because a NS/NKP train is on their bridge. It is gone in later views. The concrete girder bridge in the background is the US-20 Bridge.
Same Reel

She turned around for this shot of the NYC Bridge. The road bridge behind the test track bridge is PA-955, which is on Iroquois Ave. As Linda explains, the NYC Bridge is a double arch and we can see the gap between the arches in these NYC views.


The NYC Bridge needs some TLC. I think the date is 1909.
Same Reel

Same Reel

Linda called the NKP bridge the CSX bridge. I verified that she was wrong. When they split up Conrail, CSX got NYC. NS got NKP because of the N&W+NKP+Wabash merger.
arcgis

Linda also considers the US-20 bridge to be blah because she spent about 2 seconds on that bridge in her video.
Same Reel

These fossils are underneath the US-20 bridge.
Same Reel


1960/62 Harborcreek Quad @ 24,000

The East Erie Commercial label in the above map is still the name of the railroad that Wabtec uses to test locomotives. Linda had a few more scenes of the test train going over their bridge in her video.
A.J MIC, Apr 2023

"It takes about 25 days start to finish to build a brand new locomotive....We track test 100% of every locomotive we ship....They travel about 40 to 50 miles on the test track. We want high-speed runs and we want to do low speed run. Exercise that locomotive and all the conditions it may see out in its environment....Grand total, it varies on the model, but testing and painting takes anywhere from about 6 to 10 days." [2:14  video]