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Jeffrey Thompson

Minneapolis

July 17, 2015 3:17 PM

Photos: Inspecting the Lowry bridge -- from the wet side

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Bridge inspection — Hennepin County inspectors used a large pontoon boat with a boom lift to examine the Lowry Ave. bridge.
Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News

The bi-annual inspection of the Lowry Avenue bridge in Minneapolis continued Friday with the help of a unique tool -- a 34-foot, 19,000-pound pontoon boat. The boat was trucked in from Pennsylvania to assist with inspection efforts.

Because of the construction of the bridge, a boom arm set on the road deck cannot reach all the way under the bridge and around the piers, but the pontoon offers a 67-foot reach with the boom lift, and easy maneuverability from the water. Pontoon pilot David Ebling travels the country with the boat, which is based at Harcon Corp., in Pennsylvania. He said the design and technology are patented and that there are only five of the boats like it in existence.

The inspection from the water wrapped up Friday. Engineers will spend another week or two inspecting the bridge from the road surface. The engineers said the bridge looked good and that the inspection had gone smoothly so far.

Gallery

8 of 8

Boating around Lowry Ave. bridge — David Ebling piloted the pontoon boat.
Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News

1 of 8

Bridge inspection — Hennepin County inspectors used a large pontoon boat with a boom lift to examine the Lowry Ave. bridge.
Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News

2 of 8

Measuring cracks — John Ekola and Pat Hagstrom, engineers with Hennepin County, measured a crack during the inspection. Hagstrom said some settling cracks are normal, particularly in a newly-built bridge, but they record all of them to compare in the future.
Jeffrey Thompson | MPR News

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