WATERVILLE – When Kokosing arrives sometime after July 6 to begin working on the Roche de Boeuf Interurban Bridge, expect to see more scalpel than sledgehammer, said Ohio Department of Transportation District 2 Deputy Director Pat McColley.
“They will be demolishing it more like a surgeon than coming in and beating the thing down,” McColley explained during a June 26 open house at Farnsworth Metropark.
For several years, ODOT has been looking for a solution to deal with the 118-year-old bridge, and sought bids for a total demolition that was set to begin last year – until Gov. Mike DeWine granted a one-year extension for Save the Bridge Association (STBA) and the city of Waterville could come up with a plan.
During a six-week period this spring, that plan gelled, thanks to new information from historic bridge engineer Bill Vermes on how to carefully remove just the parts that are failing – the spandrel walls and earthen fill – and stabilize the structure for future use…