SMALLEST IN THE U.S. GROWING FAST

Abutments poured for Geneva’s new covered bridgeBy CARL E. FEATHER Staff Writer cfeather@starbeacon.com GENEVA — The abutment walls for the new covered bridge in Geneva were poured this week, clearing the way for timber to rise soon at the West Liberty Street site. City Manager James Pearson said the abutment and backfilling work should be done in about 2 1/2 weeks. Schwartz Construction of Conneaut is doing the work. The bridge members were fabricated by Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School students from locally harvested wood, then trucked to South Dakota, where a company pressure-treated the wood with oil. Pearson said the bridge members are back in Ashtabula County and, over the next couple of weeks, will be assembled at the Joint Vocational School and on site. The goal is to bring a crane on site the week following the Grape JAMboree to set the main trusses. Pearson said the timber structure of the shortest covered bridge in the United States, 18 feet, should be in place by the Covered Bridge Festival weekend, Oct. 9 and 10. However, it is unlikely the bridge will be completed and in service by then. Weather will be a big factor in determining progress, as will availability of all the parties who are providing “in kind” services to get the bridge built. “It’s going to be a big push to get ’er done,” Pearson said. “The students have been great, and everybody is excited about getting it done.” Pearson expects the bridge to cost around $300,000, plus the value of the donated labor. Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) money is paying for much of the project. Although a short bridge, it will be sturdy. Reuben Schwartz, owner of Schwartz Construction, said each abutment wall is 3 feet thick and 10 feet tall. They are reinforced with rebar, as are the footers, each one 3 feet deep and 7 1/2 feet wide. “There is a semi-tractor load of rebar in those footers,” Schwartz said. “I pity the guy who will have to tear that out. He will have nightmares with that.” The bridge will replace a crumbling structure that spanned Cowles Creek. Located just off Route 534, the new bridge is expected to be a tourist draw to the community and a key component of the city’s revitalization strategy, which includes the Wine and Culinary Center. Pearson said it’s been a busy year for the city, with three OPWC and three federal stimulus projects under way simultaneously.By CARL E. FEATHER Staff Writer cfeather@starbeacon.com GENEVA — The abutment walls for the new covered bridge in Geneva were poured this week, clearing the way for timber to rise soon at the West Liberty Street site. City Manager James Pearson said the abutment and backfilling work should be done in about 2 1/2 weeks. Schwartz Construction of Conneaut is doing the work. The bridge members were fabricated by Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School students from locally harvested wood, then trucked to South Dakota, where a company pressure-treated the wood with oil. Pearson said the bridge members are back in Ashtabula County and, over the next couple of weeks, will be assembled at the Joint Vocational School and on site. The goal is to bring a crane on site the week following the Grape JAMboree to set the main trusses. Pearson said the timber structure of the shortest covered bridge in the United States, 18 feet, should be in place by the Covered Bridge Festival weekend, Oct. 9 and 10. However, it is unlikely the bridge will be completed and in service by then. Weather will be a big factor in determining progress, as will availability of all the parties who are providing “in kind” services to get the bridge built. “It’s going to be a big push to get ’er done,” Pearson said. “The students have been great, and everybody is excited about getting it done.” Pearson expects the bridge to cost around $300,000, plus the value of the donated labor. Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) money is paying for much of the project. Although a short bridge, it will be sturdy. Reuben Schwartz, owner of Schwartz Construction, said each abutment wall is 3 feet thick and 10 feet tall. They are reinforced with rebar, as are the footers, each one 3 feet deep and 7 1/2 feet wide. “There is a semi-tractor load of rebar in those footers,” Schwartz said. “I pity the guy who will have to tear that out. He will have nightmares with that.” The bridge will replace a crumbling structure that spanned Cowles Creek. Located just off Route 534, the new bridge is expected to be a tourist draw to the community and a key component of the city’s revitalization strategy, which includes the Wine and Culinary Center. Pearson said it’s been a busy year for the city, with three OPWC and three federal stimulus projects under way simultaneously.By CARL E. FEATHER Staff Writer cfeather@starbeacon.com GENEVA — The abutment walls for the new covered bridge in Geneva were poured this week, clearing the way for timber to rise soon at the West Liberty Street site. City Manager James Pearson said the abutment and backfilling work should be done in about 2 1/2 weeks. Schwartz Construction of Conneaut is doing the work. The bridge members were fabricated by Ashtabula County Joint Vocational School students from locally harvested wood, then trucked to South Dakota, where a company pressure-treated the wood with oil. Pearson said the bridge members are back in Ashtabula County and, over the next couple of weeks, will be assembled at the Joint Vocational School and on site. The goal is to bring a crane on site the week following the Grape JAMboree to set the main trusses. Pearson said the timber structure of the shortest covered bridge in the United States, 18 feet, should be in place by the Covered Bridge Festival weekend, Oct. 9 and 10. However, it is unlikely the bridge will be completed and in service by then. Weather will be a big factor in determining progress, as will availability of all the parties who are providing “in kind” services to get the bridge built. “It’s going to be a big push to get ’er done,” Pearson said. “The students have been great, and everybody is excited about getting it done.” Pearson expects the bridge to cost around $300,000, plus the value of the donated labor. Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) money is paying for much of the project. Although a short bridge, it will be sturdy. Reuben Schwartz, owner of Schwartz Construction, said each abutment wall is 3 feet thick and 10 feet tall. They are reinforced with rebar, as are the footers, each one 3 feet deep and 7 1/2 feet wide. “There is a semi-tractor load of rebar in those footers,” Schwartz said. “I pity the guy who will have to tear that out. He will have nightmares with that.” The bridge will replace a crumbling structure that spanned Cowles Creek. Located just off Route 534, the new bridge is expected to be a tourist draw to the community and a key component of the city’s revitalization strategy, which includes the Wine and Culinary Center. Pearson said it’s been a busy year for the city, with three OPWC and three federal stimulus projects under way simultaneously.

By CARL E. FEATHER - cfeather@starbeacon.com Star Beacon The Star Beacon Sat Sep 04, 2010, 12:35 AM EDT

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