Cal Am builds Monterey pipeline bridge overnight

M

MONTEREY, Calif. —

Drivers may have noticed a new bridge spanning Highway 68 where it meets Highway 1 in Monterey on Wednesday that was not there on Tuesday.

California American Water successfully constructed a 250 foot bridge overnight for its Monterey Water Pipeline project.

The two 100 ton concrete and reinforced steel girders were fabricated offsite. A 500 ton crane was used to lift the girders into place in the middle of the night.

"This is a plan that we had been working on for months ahead of time for these couple nights and it went very efficiently," said project manager Chris Cook.

The team still needs to add architectural details to match the Fairground Road vehicle bridge, which runs parallel to the new bridge. Crews will also be installing the pipeline for the project.

"Over 2/3 of our water supply is going to be delivered via this bridge to the Monterey Peninsula," said Catherine Stedman with California American Water.

For months the company has been installing a seven mile pipeline from Seaside to Pacific Grove. The $50 million project will reroute water on the Peninsula.

Historically, water has been transported from the Carmel River in the south to the Peninsula in the north.

The pipeline project paves the way for new water sources including recycled water from the Pure Water Monterey Project.

Cal Am is facing a cease and desist order from the state on pumping from the Carmel River but will still be taking some water from the river during winter months.

The pipeline project is expected to be finished and delivering water in 2019.

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