Since the Interstate 35W bridge collapsed on Aug. 1, there has been a hole in one of the Twin Cities’ most vital roadways.

However, construction on the new bridge is about halfway through, said Kevin Gutknecht, spokesman for the project.

About 500 people work on the bridge six or seven days a week, he said.

Crews will likely begin moving segments of the bridge’s main span onto Bohemian Flats by the end of this week.

From there, the segments will be put on barges, which are already on the river. A large crane stationed on these barges will lift the segments into place.

In order to move these giant slabs of concrete, crews will close 13th Avenue South several times a day for up to 10 minutes.

More than half of the 120 concrete segments have been cast.

Dec. 24 is the scheduled completion date, and Gutknecht said the bridge will likely be completed on or before that date.

On Oct. 8, the Minnesota Department of Transportation awarded the contract to build the new bridge to Flatiron Constructors, Inc./Manson Construction, a joint venture.