ENR 2024 Midwest Best Projects
Best Project, Small Project: Spellacy Bridge Reconstruction
Photo courtesy Kokosing Construction Co.
Spellacy Bridge Reconstruction Project
Holmes County, Ohio
BEST PROJECT
Submitted by: Kokosing Construction Co.
Owner: Holmes County, Ohio (LPA with the Ohio Dept. of Transportation)
Lead Design Firm: Palmer Engineering
General Contractor: Kokosing Construction Co.
Civil Engineer: OHM Consulting
Structural Engineer: Smolen Engineering
This $9.5-million bridge project was the largest infrastructure project in the history of Holmes County, Ohio. It added a timber structure to the Mohican Greenway Corridor and Wally Road Scenic Byway.
Spanning 300 ft in length, stretching 24 ft wide and with each of its four trusses weighing 168,000 lb, the bridge is one of the nation’s largest covered bridges.
Photo courtesy Kokosing Construction Co.
During excavation, crews discovered antique construction remnants such as timber pilings below the sandstone foundations causing the forward abutment to need to be redesigned.
Photo courtesy Kokosing Construction Co.
Environmental conditions also posed a hurdle when warm weather and heavy rainfall caused the Mohican River to rise and fall dramatically, resulting in flooding of excavation sites.
Photo courtesy Kokosing Construction Co.
The use of cofferdams allowed the team to manage these conditions and proceed with substructure construction throughout the winter. The timber bridge now has a life span of over 125 years.
