The Cuyahoga River valley is full of activity with
the on-going construction of the largest ODOT
contract ever awarded, the new westbound I-90
viaduct bridge. The new bridge will be one of two
spans eventually built to replace the aging span
opened over 50 years ago. The bridge is being
built utilizing the design build delivery system,
where construction and design are being done
concurrently. Walsh Construction Co. and HNTB
are the designer/builder of this unique project.
Although this is a bridge project, there is a
considerable amount of approach work in
Tremont and near Progressive Field to tie-in the
new bridge to the existing highway alignment. A
new extension of E. 9th Street and Broadway Rd.
are also required for this project, which produced
a scope of work that fits our capabilities well.
The scope of work includes building demolition,
regulated materials removal, and most roadway
elements, including clearing, pavement removal,
erosion and sediment control, grading, storm and
waterline installation/re-location, underdrains,
and 304 subbase. We are also involved with
structures, including all the excavation and
backfill for the new viaduct bridge foundations
and other I-90 mainline structures, constructing
MSE retaining walls, and re-placing sheet pile
bulkheads on the Cuyahoga River.
Building demolition began in mid-February of
this year and has included removal of the large cold storage building, the heavily reinforced
12-story concrete structure visible from I-90. To
accomplish this task, Independence Excavating
utilized heavy demolition equipment, including
the popular Cat 245B Hi-Reach excavator, a truck
crane equipped with a wrecking ball and other
excavators with processing attachments. All of
this was necessary to remove nearly 30,000
cubic yards of reinforced concrete and progress
the west side slope re-construction. To complete
the preparation of that area, our scope includes the “unloading” of approximately 220,000 cubic
yards of material from Abbey Ave. to the river
below. This will allow the construction of the
foundations for the new bridge in Tremont and
also remove an unstable slope on the existing
bridge. This milestone is slated for completion by
year’s end.
Independence Excavating would like to thank all
partners involved in making this a very busy 2011
on this historic project.
