Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is known for its quaint village life, natural waterfall and dam, and as the likely setting of legendary comic strip “Calvin and Hobbes.” But even the village’s own website refers to its “most iconic feature” as the downtown North Main Street Bridge, a stone arch structure that dates back to 1857. When the time came for the latest bridge rehab project, ALL Erection & Crane Rental, flagship branch of the ALL Family of Companies, provided heavy lift equipment.
ALL was brought onto the job by The Great Lakes Construction’s subcontractor Black Horse Bridge Construction. The plan required 23 new precast concrete arch sections and 12 headwall sections, also made of precast. ALL specified a 120-USt
Liebherr LTM 1100-5.2 all terrain-crane.
Stone arch bridges have a different appearance from contemporary arch bridges. The arches are actually below the driving surface, positioned so water can flow through the arches. Bridge decking is supported atop the peaks of the arches below. This meant the new headwall and arch sections needed to be lowered down to the river bed. That was the job of the all-terrain crane.
The crane, configured with 111 feet of main boom and 77,200 pounds of counterweight, was positioned just off the existing bridge. Crane mats at each outrigger provided support and protected the ground.
Concrete bridge sections, each weighing approximately 31,000 pounds, were delivered by truck. The arch sections were on their sides. The crane first picked each from the trailer, and rotated and set it on the ground. Setting lines and picking lines were used to assist with rotation, which took just a few minutes for each section.
From here, rigging was reconfigured to prepare for final operations, then each piece was lifted off the ground and lowered toward the river below. Individual bridge sections were loaded onto four Hillman Rollers, each with a six-ton capacity, set on new cast-in-place footers.
“This operation represented a true partnership with Black Horse Bridge Construction, The Great Lakes Construction team, and ALL,” said Adam Dougher, project manager with Great Lakes Construction. “ALL’s operator was fantastic and performed the rotating and setting of the precast with precision. Then our team in the river bed handled the pulling equipment and installation of precast.”
Setting each arch onto the Hillman Rollers took approximately 10 minutes. Pulling the arches into place took another 15 to 45 minutes. Great Lakes used two winch systems to assist with this final placement.
With the historical nature of the structure, the final design will echo the look of original structure as much as possible. The new precast arches and accompanying precast headwalls will be faced with a natural stone veneer to preserve the original appearance. Local historical societies played a big role in the final design of the rehabilitated structure to help ensure historical accuracy.
