ODOT Henry Co. Stone Arch Bridges

Originally built in 1840 prior to the Civil War, 8 stone arch bridges, located on the banks of the Maumee River in Napoleon, OH, were originally destined for demolition in order to make room for a modern, single span bridge. However, The Historical Society and the Ohio Scenic Rivers Program became involved and required that 7 of the 8 bridges be rebuilt to their original condition.

Western Specialty Contractors Cleveland, OH Branch was hired to perform the masonry reconstruction of the bridges. Western crews worked closely with Miller Brothers Construction on the scope of work.

Western crews disassembled the head wall and wing walls of the structures and cataloged each stone that could be reused to ensure that it was placed back in its original position. The stones that could not be reused were replaced with Oolitic Indiana Limestone to match the morphology, color, texture and size of the original stones. Some of these pieces were 72 inches long, 16 inches tall, 24 inches deep and as heavy as 2,500 pounds. Masons were required to cut and grind them as needed in order to make them fit into the existing structure.

Some of the arch ring and head wall stones needed to be re-faced. Western crews chipped away the deteriorated limestone back to a solid surface, installed dowels and placed new pieces of limestone on the existing stone; some of which were 16 inches thick.

One structure in particular, that had been built on rough cut timbers, called for Western to disassemble the entire arch barrel and reassemble it by piecing in new blocks as needed. Once this structure was dewatered and inspected, Miller Brothers placed a form liner under the existing arch and pumped it full of concrete.

Throughout this reconstruction process, the creeks were dammed and water bypassed through pipes to allow for access to the structures. Western crews encountered major challenges during times of heavy rain as the Maumee River would rise and the creeks would overwhelm the dams and flood the work area. This occurred multiple times and required that the dams be reinstalled. There were also certain times of the year that the dams could not be in place due to certain environmental concerns.

Western followed the plans and specifications of the Ohio Historic Bridge Maintenance and Preservation Guide while rebuilding these structures.

Western appreciates and recognizes the Ohio Department of Transportation for the authorization and permission for the use of the above materials.

North Point Plaza

The North Point building is located in downtown Cleveland. The high-rise serves as office space to high profile tenants Jones Day and Reit Management. It also houses some retail space as well. Cleanliness of the site from equipment to perimeter fencing was a necessity in order to keep the customer satisfied and uphold the image of both the building and its tenants.

The project was completed over a two year period in three phases as to not impede access to the building during construction. Each phase had its own unique obstacles to overcome and details to deal with. The work included structural repairs to the plaza deck, located over and underground parking garage, as wall as the installation of the new drainage plan, waterproofing, precast planters and paver fab/install. Many other miscellaneous but unique details such as marble and bronze restoration were completed as well.

The new plaza consists of a pedestal-set paver system allowing for easy maintenance and repairs in the future. This system also provided excellent drainage for the plaza, a necessity for the owner considering the vital electrical equipment located under certain parts of the plaza.

The project was completed successfully and on time leaving a satisfied customer and a strong relationship for a bright future.

Shaker North Apartments Garage

Shaker North is a multi-story apartment complex located west of busy Shaker Square in Shaker Heights, Ohio. The apartment complex accommodates it’s tenants by utilizing the bottom two floors of the building as an indoor, heated parking garage. However, the garage was in dire need of structural concrete repairs. Western Specialty Contractors was able to provide the customer with immediate attention, even though the majority of work was done during Cleveland’s cold winter months.

The project required a considerable amount of concrete repairs. Approximately 60-70% of the deck was chipped out and replaced including both shallow depth and full depth repairs as well as repairs to structural beams and columns. Western took advantage of the large amount of concrete replacement by sloping the new concrete and adding new drain locations to achieve better drainage. Considering how much of the deck was being replaced, the project was completed in multiple phases to accommodate the tenants and keep the garage open during construction. Once the structural repairs were completed, Western installed a urethane traffic coating to protect the concrete deck.