All language subtitles for Building Giants Series 3 Part 2 Rise of the Monster Bridge 1080p

Narrator:
In ireland...

We're 200 feet off the river.

Narrator:
...An elite team of engineers

Is embarking
on an epic endeavor.

We're all joined and connected
by this desire to build bridges.

Narrator: They're attempting
to build the biggest bridge

The country has ever seen.

Man:
Slow. Slow!

Narrator:
To complete this incredible

Half-mile river crossing
in a mere 44 months...

Inching it millimeter
by millimeter.

Narrator: ...The team
must battle massive loads...

...Unpredictable weather,
and precarious heights.

A project like this comes to you
once in a lifetime.

Narrator:
This incredible bridge ranks

In a league of ambitious
new engineering wonders

That are bigger, faster,
taller, and more advanced

Than anything
ever constructed before.

This is the inside story
of the extraordinary challenge

Of building these giants.

-- Captions by vitac --
www.Vitac.Com

Captions paid for by
discovery communications

Southeastern ireland.

Small country roads
connect the quaint villages

And farms
that dot these green hills.

The landscape is a patchwork
of spectacular valleys

And beautiful rivers.

♪

One of the largest,
the mighty barrow river,

Flows for more than 120 miles
to the sea.

The only way across
for the residents who live

On either side of this river
is the small o'hanrahan bridge

In the center
of the harbor town of new ross.

Heavy traffic between
the busy city of cork

And the growing town of wexford

Has to pass through
this tight bottleneck,

And it's taking its toll
on the town.

Now a team of engineers is
attempting to divert the road

And build an extraordinary new
bridge three miles downriver.

This new divided highway will
remove traffic from the town

And soar over the barrow river,
conquering its wide waters.

♪

Lucia blanco is
one of the engineers

Designing this
record-breaking megabridge.

This cutting-edge crossing
will stretch more than 1/2 mile

Over the river to become
the longest bridge in ireland.

♪

The rose fitzgerald
kennedy bridge

Will stretch more than
1/2 mile across the valley.

In the middle of the river,

An enormous tower
rises out of the water,

Soaring nearly 200 feet
into the sky.

The towers support 34 bundles
of steel cables

That hold up the enormous
concrete roadway

More than 3,000 feet
from one side to the other.

♪

This record-breaking bridge

Will not only be
the longest bridge in ireland

But the longest bridge
of its type in the entire world.

♪

Building this bridge
won't be easy.

♪

The new bridge needs to be
both very long

To span
the huge width of the waterway

And very high to allow
tall ships to pass underneath.

Building on this scale
will be a huge challenge.

This super spanned structure

Will push the limits
of bridge engineering.

♪

The team will begin on land,

Building 11 concrete towers
on either side of the river,

But the base
of the massive central tower

Must sit in more than
10 feet of fast-running water.

♪

So here, they must build
an artificial island...

♪

...Then drive
supporting foundation piles

Through the soft riverbed
to the bedrock below.

With its foundation in place,

The bridge's enormous
central tower rises up.

♪

Once the tower is complete,
engineers build the roadway

With custom-made
mobile concrete molds

And attach steel cables
to support the road

As they move along.

Finally,
with millimeter accuracy,

They meet in the middle to form
one giant solid structure.

At least, that's the plan.

♪

In order to access
the barrow bridge,

Workers first build
a new highway

To route traffic
around the town.

Work begins in 2016.

♪

Workers plow the new road
through the rolling hills

Of the irish countryside
down towards both riverbanks,

Where they hit their first
major problem,

Building in the river.

To build this colossal crossing,
the team will need to construct

A road support
in the middle of the river,

A huge central pier
rising out of the water,

But the low tide exposes
hundreds of yards

Of very deep, very soft mud.

Engineers cannot build on top
of this soft mud,

But the team has a radical
solution to the problem.

They will build their own
artificial solid ground

Out in the middle of the water.

♪

To build the bridge's
central tower,

The team must first create
a solid base

In the middle of the river,

But if they simply piled rock
into the water,

It would sink into the mud
and be washed away

By the river's strong
tidal currents.

♪

Instead, they lay
high-tech super strong fabrics

Called geotextiles
in the riverbed.

Then they pile the rock,
blasted from the riverbanks,

On top.

The geotextile works like
a snowshoe,

Evenly distributing the weight
of the rock on the unstable mud.

Additional layers on top
hold the rock in place,

Preventing it
from being washed away.

The end result is a stable
artificial island

That will form a solid base

For the bridge's
vital central tower.

It takes just three months to
construct the artificial island.

This creates a huge
square platform

On top of which the team can now
build a massive concrete tower.

These act as the bridge's legs,
supporting the roadway.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!

Narrator:
Once the towers are in position,

The team must gear up to perform
an aerial balancing act

And construct
the record-breaking roadway

147 feet
above the mighty river.

♪

Ah [bleep]
they're stuck like -- look.

♪

♪

Narrator:
In southeastern ireland,

An elite construction team

Is attempting to build
a record-breaking megabridge

Across one of the country's
biggest rivers.

After 23 months of work,

The bridge's central
support pillar is in place.

Now the team is ready to begin
the next phase,

Building the road deck,

But they'll have to do
this part of the job in midair.

Mark whelan is part of the team

Responsible for extending
the bridge over the river.

Ironworkers, carpenters,
surveyors, and laborers

All work together in the shadow
of a massive steel frame

Called the form traveler,
a vast concrete mold

That shapes each new section
of the road deck.

This is how it works.

First, the traveler's
powerful hydraulics

Shift the whole mold forwards
into thin air.

It now extends more than 20 feet
beyond the edge of the bridge.

Underneath, enormous steel
struts connect it to the tower,

Supporting its massive weight.

♪

When it's in position,

Workers fill the mold
with concrete.

♪

Once the concrete is set,

The traveler
moves forward again,

Supported by the super strong
concrete section it just molded.

Four travelers
move outward simultaneously

From each side
of the two huge spans

And will eventually meet
in the middle

To complete the road deck.

♪

The team gears up to move
the central traveler

Out over the river,
but it won't be easy.

They have to move it uphill.

It takes two teams
working in tandem

To move the traveler uphill,
one above deck and one below.

Mark is getting in position
below deck.

With everybody in position,

The team starts
the hydraulic arms.

The pistons push the 200-ton
steel frame 2 feet at a time,

Inching it closer and closer
to the edge.

At the same time,
the team below uses brute force

To winch
the form traveler forwards.

We're going uphill.

We're more steep now than
we initially were back there.

So we're creeping up
the hill now,

So there's more load
on the back of the traveler.

Narrator: The steep incline
makes winching out

The underside of the traveler
by hand a physical challenge.

♪

♪ row, row, row, row ♪

♪

Narrator: Both teams have to
move in perfect unison

To keep the traveler
moving straight,

But very quickly,
something gets jammed.

Look.

Narrator: The lever becomes
almost impossible to move,

And the form traveler
comes to a halt.

It's stuck against
the bridge itself.

Whelan: At the moment here,
this plywood is too tight

Against the existing concrete,

So it's wedging against
the traveler.

So basically,
what we need to do now

Is let this down about
2 to 3 centimeters,

And then that'll give play so
the traveler can slide through.

So at the moment, it's wedged.

Narrator: The team races to
loosen the supporting steel bars

And lower the form traveler away
from the concrete bridge deck.

With the supporting bars
loosened

And the traveler free
from the concrete,

They try again.

Inching it millimeter
by millimeter.

Narrator:
But tension is rising

In both the traveler
and the team.

Very hard work, today it is.

It's not normally like this.

Narrator: The team tries to haul
the traveler further uphill.

Ah [bleep]
they're stuck like -- look.

Narrator:
But it gets stuck again.

With so many intricate
moving parts,

It takes a while
to identify the problem.

The shackle got caught
in front of the beam,

So we couldn't
move it forward.

So everything
is good to go now.

So you guys moving really easy
right now?

After an hour of fine-tuning,
the form traveler finally comes

To a stop
in the perfect position.

Whelan:
We're finished now.

We got the beam
in the correct location.

Narrator:
Now mark and his team

Have to fill the traveling
form work with concrete.

They must pump the concrete more
than 150 feet up from the ground

And more than 100 feet
to the end of the bridge.

It's no easy task.

♪

The team must lay the concrete
from the inside out,

Ducking under low ceilings
and squeezing into tight areas

In the dark interior
of the bridge.

They need to fill the walls
and base of the traveler

With concrete first
to support the road deck.

They must spread it
with millimeter precision...

...Or the bridge
could end up off-balance.

♪

♪

Narrator:
In southeastern ireland,

An international team
of engineers

Is extending the concrete
road deck

Of ireland's newest
and longest bridge.

They must spread
the fresh concrete

With millimeter precision.

If the concrete is uneven,

Not only could it create
a bumpy ride for any vehicles,

But it could also lead
to structural imbalances

In the bridge itself.

It takes more than 8 hours
to lay this new 20-foot section

Of road deck.

The team finishes the pour just
as the concrete starts to set.

Whelan: Yeah.

No problems,
everything went well.

Everything went smooth.

I think it's the quickest one
we've done yet.

We started pumping concrete
about 6:15 a.M.

I think it's now 2:30.

Narrator: The sheer scale
of this megastructure requires

More than 32,000
cubic yards of concrete,

And the unusual design
of the bridge

Calls for
a particularly strong mix.

Concrete dries quickly,
so the bridge's engineers

Need to source all of
the fresh wet concrete locally.

It's made here
at the kilmacow concrete plant

Only 12 miles away.

95 newton is
a particularly strong concrete.

The strengths of this ilk,

They don't come around
very often.

Narrator: Expert concrete
technician colin heffernan

Is responsible for ensuring
the mix is perfect.

We combine different aggregates,
which are cements,

Your admixtures,
and your waters.

What you've got here
is a 10 millstone,

So you combine that with sand,
part of your fine aggregate,

And then also a coarser chip
again, 14 millstone.

All of these different
aggregates are combined together

To give you that cohesive mix

That will produce the strength
required for the bridge.

Narrator: Enormous loading bins
release the required amount

Of each aggregate
onto a conveyor belt below.

The door opens.

The aggregate drops
onto the weigh conveyor,

And that weighs the proportion
of that aggregate in the mix.

Narrator: The conveyor belt
itself weighs each ingredient

To ensure
the mixture is perfect,

Then transports it to the mixer.

But the aggregates
will now be transferred up

To a central mixer,

And there, they'll be mixed
with the cements,

The water,
and the chemical admixtures,

Following which the concrete
will be discharged into a truck,

And then we're going to go over
to the lab

And we're going to test
the actual concrete mix.

Narrator:
Colin takes a sample

From every load
leaving the site.

He must ensure
the concrete is strong enough

To use on the bridge.

In deep storage, he has
sample cubes of the concrete mix

That have been curing
for 4 weeks.

What we have here
are c80/95 cubes.

They were manufactured
28 days ago,

And we're going to
crush them today.

Narrator:
Before the test,

Colin removes
any small imperfections

And makes sure each cube
has a consistent weight.

All concrete has
a structural limit.

If you apply too much force,
it will crack and explode.

This is a compression machine,
which is used to assess

The compressive strength
of the actual concrete cubes.

We need this cube to meet
a target of 95 newtons.

Narrator:
Colin starts up the machine,

Which slowly increases
the pressure on the cube.

At the moment, you can see that
the upper plate

Is compressing on the cube,
exerting a force on it.

The force is building.

We'd expect that force to go
to 1,050 or 1,100.

Narrator: Every second,

It approaches
its target strength.

Eventually,
cracks begin to appear

In the side of the cube until...

It explodes.

But colin is happy
with the results.

114.2 newtons
per millimeter squared --

It's far exceeded
the target strength

And shows that the concrete
is suitable for use

In the bridge itself.

Narrator:
More than 4,000 trucks

Full of
this super strength concrete

Are needed
to complete the bridge.

It's thanks to these tests
on every batch of concrete

That the build team
has ultimate confidence

In the strength of their bridge.

♪

On-site, the team is now
39 months into the bridge build.

♪

They're making good progress,
but as the roadways get longer,

There's a new problem.

They move.

It's marcos sanchez's job
to ensure that each new section

Of the bridge
is positioned correctly.

Building here is
a delicate balancing act.

♪

Workers build the road deck
out in both directions

From the central pier.

♪

Each complete section
extends the road by 20 feet

But also adds
hundreds of tons of weight.

♪

The extra weight of each
new section pulls the road down

And lifts the opposite side
just like a seesaw.

Too much weight on the wrong
side will cause the bridge

To fall out of balance
with disastrous consequences.

♪

The team has to coordinate work
on each side of the deck,

Building at the same speed

So that neither side
becomes too heavy.

♪

This remote
solar-powered monitoring station

Keeps watch over the bridge
at all times.

It measures every part of the
bridge with millimeter accuracy

24 hours a day.

The equipment discovers that
the latest road section

Drags one side of the bridge
too low.

Marcos has to ensure
the road decks will meet

Precisely in the middle,

Or all their hard work
will have been for nothing.

♪

♪

Narrator: In ireland,
an elite construction team

Is attempting to build
the country's biggest bridge.

They're building two road decks
out towards each other

In midair,
but one side of the central deck

Is 2 feet lower
than it should be.

Bridge designer marcos
has a solution.

He uses a complex
computer program to predict

How the bridge will react and
move as they build each section.

He can then use the support
cables to raise each section

Of the bridge
back to where it should be.

Marcos is confident he can get
the bridge back on track.

As the roadway grows longer
and longer,

It needs even more support
from above.

♪

Specialized engineers
must install more than 300 miles

Of solid steel cables

To hold up
the ends of the road deck.

♪

Today, the team is attempting
to install the longest,

Heaviest,
and highest cables yet.

♪

Thick bundles of steel cables
link the road deck

To the bridge's central tower.

To build the cables,
engineers first lift

A tough outer casing
into position.

♪

Next, they individually thread
hundreds of super strong cables

Through the casing.

Each cable passes through

A specially constructed
steel saddle

And out the other side.

Engineers attach each cable to
the underside of the road deck,

Then tension them
from both sides at once,

Pulling them
tighter and tighter.

Once fully tensioned,
the cables form a rigid triangle

Which pulls the road deck
inwards and supports its weight.

Workers need to install
34 of these cables

Across the whole bridge to lock
the road deck into a solid block

Capable of reaching out
across the enormous span.

♪

Hey!

Narrator:
It's craig sneddon's job

To install the cables
that hold the bridge up,

But first, he needs to build
a vital plastic casing

To protect the cables.

Craig must construct a pipe
nearly 450 feet in length

To hold the longest cables
on the bridge so far.

He has to ensure every section

Is joined perfectly
with no weak spots,

Or the super long
flexible casing

Could bend too far and snap.

Craig's team must shave
the pipe sections

Until they're perfectly flat

And will join together
with no space or gaps.

A special vice lines up
each pipe section

And peels off thin layers until
they join together seamlessly,

But to stick them together
permanently,

Craig needs to melt them.

After joining
12 sections together,

The pipe is ready for craig
to lift it into position.

The team connects the end
of the pipe to a crane,

Which needs to lift
the heavy, flexible tube

To the top of the tower.

Keep it forward!

Narrator: With the crane
securely attached,

The pipe lifts off the ground.

The team has to ensure
that the delicate pipe

Doesn't hit anything
on the way up.

As the new pipe is lifted
clear of the others,

The flexible plastic begins
to bend, which is a problem.

Craig and his team needs
to straighten the pipe

So the steel cables can
slide through without snagging.

They do this
with a guide strand...

...A single steel cable
running the length of the pipe.

As craig tightens
the guide strand,

It lifts the pipe even further
and straightens it out.

In no time at all,
the pipe is in position,

But the team isn't finished yet.

They must run 125 steel cables
through the middle

So that it can
hold up the bridge.

The cables are delivered
on huge 3-ton coils.

Each coil holds more than
a mile of steel.

They load each steel cable
into a cable-pushing machine.

This thrusts the cables
at a constant rate

Up the whole length of the pipe
through the saddle at the top

And far down
to the other side of the bridge.

Once the cable pusher starts,

Craig has to pay close attention
to the coil.

♪

The team on the ground
pushes a cable up

To the top of the tower...

Stop. Stop.

Narrator: ...Where a worker
must quickly catch it

And put it through
the correct hole in the saddle.

The cable eventually reaches
the far side, where it is caught

And fed through
the same hole in another block.

Far below the road deck,

Another team works inside the
bridge to tension the tables.

With the cables being
fed through one by one,

The team inside the bridge
have to tighten all of them...

We've got to be strong
and physical to do this job.

Narrator: ...Until they take
the full weight of the concrete.

♪

♪

Narrator:
In southeastern ireland,

This fearless construction crew
is balancing on the edge

Of ireland's largest bridge
150 feet above the barrow river,

But hidden inside
the concrete road deck,

A specialized team
is working hard to attach

The enormous steel cables
that keep the road in place.

These cables, this is
what's holding up the structure

Of the bridge, pretty much.

Narrator: It's david o'hara's
job to ensure the steel cables

Are tight enough
to hold up the bridge.

These thick cables
up on the bridge there,

They affect the position.

My job is to go inside
and stretch these cables.

Narrator: David has to venture
deep inside

The belly of the bridge

To find the ends
of the steel strands.

Today, he must secure
the longest cable so far,

Which poses a huge challenge.

Well, at the moment,
we're inside the bridge, okay?

That's pretty much where
all the work has happened.

Everybody tends to think that
that's just a road

That you drive over, but no.

Really, this is where
all the action happens.

Narrator:
Workers on the bridge deck above

Feed the cable strands
through a metal tube

Down into the team
inside the bridge.

Okay!

This is the anchor block where
david will secure each strand

And pull it tight.

Right.
Let's get it strapped down,

Pulling through just now
and feeding through

For the cable that we're
going to install at the moment.

As you can see,
it's not simple,

But it is possible.

Yep,
keep going!

Workers feed the cables
down into the road deck

In a precise order

So david's team
inside the bridge

Knows where
the next cable will appear.

Well, it is pretty much
like threading a needle

Because you put this up there.

You put the gauge strand
up the designated hole,

And each hole
has got a number.

Narrator: David uses a hydraulic
jack to tighten each cable

As it comes through the anchor.

It almost looks like a bazooka.

Narrator: He puts the jack
over the top of each cable

Right up to the anchor.

The jack then pulls the cable
through inch by inch,

Locking it in place.

This here is your jack, right,
and this is what's pulling

The force
of these strands here, yeah?

Narrator: But they have to be
precise or a cable could snap.

It's basically like
an elastic band.

You're pulling, pulling,
pulling,

And if you put too much force,
it will pop,

So you only do it
a certain percentage.

Narrator: It only takes david
a few minutes

To fully stress each strand,
but he has to do this 125 times.

With the new cable secure,

The team is able to build out
even further over the water.

♪

It takes 41 months,
but eventually,

The roads approach
each other in the middle.

And this is where
the final challenge begins.

Harvey,
drop it down a bit.

We'll be better with --
drop it down a bit there.

Every moment now
is a big moment.

Narrator: It's up to
declan roche and his team

To finally join the two ends
of the bridge together.

Today is a very big day
for us here on the project,

And today is the day
when we bring the locking beams,

Which are going to fix the two
bridge decks together to size.

We're going to install them.

Narrator: After more than
three years of building,

The road decks
are almost touching,

But they've run into a problem.

You see the central point
is beyond the traveler bars,

So that won't work.

One road is lower
than the other.

We clearly cannot have a step
or a speed ramp

In the middle of the bridge.

That wouldn't work at all,
so no,

It is very important
that we bring these together.

Narrator:
The team has to ensure

The roads are
the exact same height,

And they have a genius plan
to bring each side together.

Roche: We've had
a lot of people wondering

How are we going to bring
the bridge decks together?

♪

Narrator: With the bridge
nearing completion,

One side of the roadway
is nearly 2 feet higher

Than the other.

To bridge this gap,
first, engineers securely

Attach colossal steel beams
to the higher side.

Next, they use long bolts
to connect the beams

To the lower side of the bridge.

Then small but mighty
hydraulic jacks

Will slowly pull the lower road
deck up to meet the steel beams,

Raising the whole concrete deck
to the same level.

Finally, they move the remaining
traveler out across the gap,

Connecting it to the other side
for one last concrete cast.

Once they finish both gaps,
the bridge will be complete.

Roche: I think the first thing
I thought of is,

"that's a really simple,
clever idea,"

You know, because the best ideas
sometimes are the simplest.

Narrator: The first job is
to put the locking beams

In the correct position.

The super strong steel beams
are more than 36 feet long

And weigh
more than 13 tons each.

The team has brought in
this special crane to lift them.

The beam itself, as you can see,
the beam is quite big.

It's over 1.2 meters in height.

Narrator:
There's just one problem.

To lift the enormous
locking beams,

The crane needs to extend
long stabilizing legs,

But there's not enough room.

We're up in the deck
of the bridge,

And space is very constrained.

The bridge itself
is relatively narrow.

It's four lanes in total,
two lanes on either side,

But because we've got the cables
here in the middle,

It restricts the space
we have for the crane.

The team scrambles to move
heavy equipment and machinery

Around the deck
to clear a path for the crane.

Yeah.
It should be okay.

3 meters
to the middle of the pad.

It was a meter back,
but here, it should be okay.

It should have
this much to spare.

Narrator: It's a tight squeeze,
but the crew has cleared

Just enough space to extend
and stabilize the crane.

It's the middle part.

Okay.

With the crane
finally in position,

They're ready to lift
the locking beams into place.

Roche: We have to be very
precise on how we place these.

The holes in the deck
and the holes in the beam,

They got to line up
really precisely.

There's not a lot of room
for error.

Narrator: Workers on either side
of the divide use ropes

To guide the beam and gently
lower it over the span.

All right.
Let's go!

It's going up this way.

Evan!

I'm going to pull her around
a bit now, yeah?

Harvey, drop it down a bit.

We'll be better with --
drop it down a bit there.

Narrator: They drop the locking
beams onto special bases

And carefully line up the holes.

As with any of these operations,

There's always
a little adjustment

To get the millimeter accuracy
that we need.

Narrator: The holes in the base
go right through

To the underside
of the road deck.

Declan heads to the other side
of the bridge

To inspect the difference
in height.

Roche: So we've come over
to the other side of the river,

And we're going to have
a look here

And see where we've put the beam

In this morning
from the other side,

And we can have
a look at the gap

That's between the deck
on the other side of the beam.

Narrator: The locking beam
shows the difference in height

Between the road decks.

One side is almost 2 feet
higher than the other.

Can I come around
behind you?

Sorry.
Thanks very much.

The team will need to push
the locking beams to the limit

To bring the roads level.

Wade: They've got
very restricted access,

Very intricate maneuvers here.

♪

♪

Narrator:
In southeastern ireland,

An international team of experts

Is about to connect two sides
of a record-breaking bridge,

But first, they need to make
sure they're the same height.

Well, you can see, we've got
a distance of 400 millimeters

Or just under 400 millimeters.

Narrator: The team need to lift
the entire central concrete road

More than 1 1/2 feet

In order to bring it level
with the other side.

Even though it's concrete
and steel, it still flexes,

And it still moves.

It's a very long cantilever
over there,

And that is the reason why
we need these heavy bridge beams

Because we need to lock
the two decks together.

Narrator: The crew will return
first thing in the morning

To begin
the final colossal lift.

♪

The team arrives before sunrise.

♪

Engineer mike wade
takes over from declan

To inspect the leveling
of the road decks.

It's early in the morning,

And it's nice that
it's actually in the summer.

These jobs in the winter
are not so pleasant.

Narrator: The early start not
only gives the team more time

To finish the operation,

But the cool air and mist
actually make the job easier.

We're starting at 5:00
this morning

Because the temperature of
the deck is cool and constant.

During the day,
the deck will warm up.

The cantilever actually
deflects further,

And so we're trying to get it
locked into position

Before the sun comes up
and warms the deck.

♪

Narrator: To do this, they will
use powerful hydraulic jacks

To lift the lower deck
to the correct height.

Here, we're having the jacks
delivered to be

Installed onto the threaded bars
so that they can be tensioned,

So these guys
are just lifting it up.

And then they'll lift it
over the top of the bar.

Narrator: The hydraulic jacks
are too heavy to move by hand,

So they need to be lifted
into position with cranes.

Can I come around
behind you?

Sorry.
Thanks very much.

♪

But the huge steel frame of
the form traveler is in the way.

So you can see the issues
with getting the jacks

Installed onto the bars.

They've got
very restricted access here

With the frame
of the form traveler,

So it all has very,
very intricate maneuvers here.

Narrator: The team struggles
to find a way through the frame

Of the form traveler.

With a little trial and error,
they manage to thread the jack

Through a tight gap
down onto the first bar.

The first line of bars
to be tensioned

Is this first line here,

So he's just maneuvering
the first jack into position now

Over this first bar.

But he's there now.

Yeah.

Nice job, so that's the first
jack into position.

Narrator: This is the critical
moment everyone has been

Working towards
for more than three years.

The jacks apply hundreds of tons
of pressure to the steel bar

To raise
the concrete road below.

And now this deck is coming up
and closing this gap.

Narrator: The powerful jack
lifts the road deck

Millimeter by millimeter.

This gap is now probably
about 40 millimeters,

So the deck is still coming up.

Narrator: Workers both above
and below the concrete road

Tighten nuts to lock the bridge
deck higher and higher.

The gap is getting
a lot closer now,

So we're getting there.

We're still moving.

Narrator:
After only seven minutes,

The jack has lifted
the entire road

By more than 15 inches.

The decks are now locked
and perfectly level.

Wade: Really, really pleased
to see it all come together.

It's very, very satisfying
for everybody.

Narrator: With the roads
now joined together,

The team has finally bridged
the barrow river.

[ cheers and applause ]

For the first time,

It's possible
to cross the bridge.

This record-breaking crossing
will provide a new route

Across the barrow river for more
than 12,000 vehicles every day.

We'll be open to traffic
very soon.

I'm so proud and so pleased
to have been part of this team

That's been involved, loved it.

Narrator: It's taken
more than three years,

But the barrow bridge
is now finally complete.

It will transform
the southeast of ireland

And the lives of everyone
in the town of new ross.

Bridges link people
and link communities,

And so actually,

You leave more than the legacy
of a physical structure.

You leave united community.

♪