What Do They Do With Key Bridge Collapse Debris Salvage?

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As a retired owner of a steel mill contact steel mill company I can say that these worker are cutting the pieces small enough to be able to be fed into an electric melt recycle steel furnace. They might use some of the same steel after it has been recycled to build the new bridge.

I a welder that had 45 years of experience and I think they are doing a great job with this project 😊

Being a near retired welder, you asked if they are cutting properly, yes they are. Best way is they have extended torch tubes, so they don't have to squat down.

Bro.... My dad had two years engineering at UW... Seattle....... his favorite thing to say to me after he told me something was ...okay explain it back to me with a few different words if you want ...but let me know that you understood what I was talking about .... And then give me a few examples so I even know more that you understood me. This proved to be invaluable to me all my life. Sir I really appreciate you taking time to explain things so clearly to everybody we need more people like you thank you very much. God loves us. We all have been through it with floating bridges in the state of Washington.... We just built a new bridge connecting State route 520 not too long ago. But the Hood canal bridge sunk and so did the one across to Mercer Island... And they said that the evergreen point floating bridge had to be replaced because it was too old. That's the one they just built... They built all the pontoons for it down here on the Pacific coast in grays harbor and then floated them all the way up to Seattle through the locks... And into lake Washington.... It was amazing how accurately each pontoon had to be..... made exactly like the other ones. Same weight same length same width same.height

Imagine the amount of oxy/acetylene being consumed on this project. It boggles the mind on the sheer volume of steel being processed, the workforce, equipment. Thanks to all the trades that are working to clear and rebuild.

Jeff, the cutting attachment on the excavator is called a 'SHEAR". They are cutting the metal up into 5 foot pieces because you get more money per ton from the scrap yard for doing so.

Yes they are cutting the steel very well. That helmet/mask and respirator combination is the best that I've seen. back in the day, we would have been sent in with a short torch, a hard hat and some goggles. We would be expected to breath some of the fumes from the burning paint or fumes from zinc if it was galvanized.

Ironically, the steel is being taken to Sparrows Point where it was made back in the 70's when Bethlehem Steel had a huge plant. Now being crunched up into pieces like the circle of life for steel.

One of the things I learned during my career as a crane operator doing a lot of steel erection, is that bolts in a gusset should never experience any shear force. That is why there are so many bolts, to create enough friction between the two or more pieces of steel so they can never slip pass one another. If the bolts ever experience shear forces then the gusset wasn't designed correctly.

They are not Welders they are burners, the pieces are not being cut for inspection they are reduced to 5 foot or less sections as it is the optimum size for recycling

the track machine has a demo shear on it for cutting steel in scrap yards and demolition site. The guys with the torches are cutters. Welders put steel together, cutters cut it apart. Very slow process cutting this much steel compared to what a shear could process. They have their work cut out for them either way.

Thanks Jeff. You're adding great perspective beyond a single camera view - a behind the scenes look.

The "Grapple" you referred to is a Shear made by LaBounty , from memory they can cut up to 75 mm thick steel but the blades wear out faster that way , They have hardened steel cutting blades that can be unbolted and flipped over 4 times until they need replacing or sharpening. The hydraulic rams on the ones i serviced were over 400 ton of cutting force.

These guys are cutting the steal with demolition torches, which has nothing to do with welding, nor was there any rivets in the steel. Nuts and bolts!

Steel is in excellent condition for its age. The paint is phenomenal. Those A36 bolts deserve our applause…as well.

the bridge is a testament to a great design and American steel...... hopefully the bridge is replaced again in the near future. Hello from New Zealand

I am a Boilermaker welder rigger from Australia 🇦🇺 those guys are doing a great job cutting up the steel. That bridge was definitely built well. It’s a shame that ship destroyed it. 🙏🇦🇺👨‍🏭

Thanks for the live stream Jeff. I was looking for something like that a couple days ago!

Thank you so much for your updates and the links you provided.... I didn't know there was a live feed of the progress.