LEHI — Massive pre-cast bridge beams, the largest ever constructed in the state of Utah, taller than a popular Disney feature and the third longest bridge beams in the United States, are being installed on I-15 in Lehi.
The Utah Department of Transportation is installing six of the 203 feet beams as part of the Point of the Mountain construction project. Two of the beams took two hours to move between 2100 North and Lehi Main Street yesterday as they were transported into place to hold up a bridge over railroad tracks.
“Descriptions don’t do them justice. They are phenomenally big,” says Lee Wegner, a spokesperson with Forterra Structural Precast in Salt Lake.
Drivers in Utah County are getting an up-close-and-personal view of the beams as they’re moved because UDOT is not closing the freeway. However, the speed limit through the construction zone is 60 mph, and Utah Highway Patrol troopers say people are still going way too fast in the work zones.
The six beams being installed this weekend are just a small portion of the Technology Corridor in Lehi. The five-mile stretch of construction costs an estimated $430 million and is expected to be finished in 2020.
For reference, Cinderella’s Castle at Walt Disney World is 189 feet tall, or 14 feet shorter than these bridge beams.
