April 25, 1961
Prestressed concrete beams will be poured on this huge prestressing bed at the R.B. Johnson company site on Three Mile Lane. First beams will be poured in about three weeks, according to Johnson. Instead of bars of steel, prestressed beams have strands of high tension cable running through them, giving strength and economy. Beams are poured on over the strands stretched the length at this concrete bed, which is 10 feet wide and 227 Feet long. It contains 200 yards of concrete and about 15 tons of steel. The bed pit is nine feet deep and the main portion at the bed is 16 inches deep. About 40 strands of cable will run through each beam, with 20,000 pounds of pull on each strand. Johnson said only four or five places in Oregon make prestressed beams and pointed out the difficulty at transportation because of their size. First order Johnson has received for prestressed beams, used primarily in buildings and bridges, is from Yamhill County tor bridge beams. Additional beams may be made by Johnson's company for the upcoming Three Mile lane highway project.