Bay Area fabricator builds large beams for Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge

UPDATE 05/11/17 6:24 p.m.: With an arterial bridge destroyed and a community split in half, many in Big Sur are still dealing with the aftermath of the winter storms that took place months ago.

Standing in an empty store, Brigga Mosca said this should have been the beginning of a bustling season for the general store at the Big Sur lodge.

“Normally, there’d be six people full time in May and going to eight people June, July and August. Now, it’s just myself and one other person that comes in two days a week,” Mosca said.

Those who live and work on opposite sides of the Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge have had to hike home.

Caltrans said crews are working as fast as they can.

“You don’t have bridges being built in six months. That is unreal,” said Susana Cruz with Caltrans.

On Thursday, Caltrans put out the first complete girder while crews prepared the foundation for the new bridge.

“It’s a landmark,” Cruz said. “One of the 15 girders were completed today.”

Once the other 14 are ready, they will be delivered and assembled on the bottom of the canyon.

The bridge will be launched from the north side.

For Mosca, things are already starting to look up at the store.

“Oh yes, yes, in fact, this month we will see more people coming in because it’s already picking up a bit,” Mosca said.

But it will take a few months for things to return to normal.

“I don’t think that will really happen until the bridge is completed: A real recovery,” Mosca said.

PREVIOUS STORY: Construction on the new Pfeiffer Canyon Bridge is Big Sur is underway, as crews continue their work to rebuild the bridge damaged by winter storms.

Locals and visitors are waiting for the new bridge, which will reconnect two portions of Highway 1, after a mudslide took out the previous bridge in February.

The bridge is expected to be completed by September, according to Caltrans.

For now, some parts for the new bridge are being fabricated at a Bay Area engineering plant in Vallejo. On Thursday, Caltrans offered a tour to show some of the beams being developed by XKT.

KION’s Linda Zhang will have more on this story at 6 p.m.