Ohio 21 2013 by Construction Equipment Guide

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OHIO STATE EDITION

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October 12 2013

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Vol. XVIII • No. 21

“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Ohio Connection: Ed Bryden, Strongsville, OH • 1-800-810-7640

Ruhlin Starts Prep Work on Multi-Year I-77 Bridge Deck Job By Irwin Rapoport CEG CORRESPONDENT

Pre-construction prep work began in late July on the 20132016 (August completion date) project to replace the concrete deck on the 3,100-ft. (945 m) long bridge on Interstate 77 (also linked to the I-480) in south Cleveland that links the counties of Cayahoga (Cleveland) and Independence. The $27.4 million Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) project also includes structure repairs, concrete patching work, and other infrastructure for the bridge built in 1976. The bridge spans the Cayahoga River Valley, with the river only covering five percent of the terrain covered by the span. The Ruhlin Company, based in Sharon Center, Ohio (40 mi. south of Cleveland), was awarded the contract in April 2013. The north-south bridge consists of two decks with three lanes each and each deck being separated by a gap of about 4 in. (10 cm). The south side widens out due to the location of several on/off ramps. There are several major challenges for Ruhlin, including traffic — 150,000 vehicles cross the bridge daily, the tight period for construction — mid-March to the end of October, and access to the work site for equipment and materials. “Traffic switches are relatively complex,” said Jim Ruhlin Jr., superintendent of the Ruhlin Company and superintendent of the project. “You don’t get to do the bridge’s full width. The traffic patterns only allow you to divert traffic over to the northbound structure, but there will still be traffic on the southbound side.

case on one August weekend (18 to 19), between 20 and 25 people are on site. “Next year, when we start removing the deck, there will be anywhere between 60 and 90 on the bridge at any given time,” said Ruhlin Jr. “It’s a fastpaced job and we’re replacing the deck on the southbound side first. With a narrow construction window, you have to work multiple shifts with pretty sizable crews and sizable amounts of equipment and materials.” Safety will be a crucial concern via traffic and the The principal work is the tight working area which removal of the 11-in. (28 cm) con- will be crowded. crete decking, which will be done In addition to Ruhlin in phases via the removal of personnel, there also will slabs that will be saw-cut and be employees and equipremoved by 330 and 336 ment from the following The excavators also will be used to separate the rebar from the con- Caterpillar excavators and Ivy crete. The new concrete will be pored in, with carpenters setting up the loaded out using four Volvo 120 subcontractors: Development Company loaders. wooden form work rapidly after the old decking is removed. for rebar installation, Tech Ready Mix for concrete, “Access is definitely limited and that will be saw-cut and removed some local companies in the there will be phases when you are by 330 and 336 Caterpillar excava- Independence area such as the 360 Construction for painting and working on the outside portion of tors (around five or six) and loaded Kurtz Brothers, a big materials sealing, Thompson Electric for the bridge where you can get mate- out using four Volvo 120 loaders. handler that will take all the rub- electrical, A & A Safety for mainterial up and down by crane easily The excavators will also be used to blized concrete and crush it for use nance of traffic, M.P. Dory for perenough,” he added, “but the phases separate the rebar from the con- in local building projects. The manent signs, Turn Key Tunneling on the interior portions will pretty crete. The new concrete will be rebar will be separated through a for the jack and bores, and On-site much have us landlocked with traf- pored in, with carpenters setting up rubblizing process using NPK for the stud welding. Currently, Ruhlin work crews fic on either side of us. This is the wooden form work rapidly E216 hoe rams and material where getting people, equipment after the old decking is removed. processors. The rebar will be sold are employing a Komatsu 228 and material will become a chalThe concrete, based on ODOT to local scap companies. This is a excavator, a Volvo 90 loader, a John Deere 650 bulldozer, a lenge.” specifications, should have a 50- very sustainable project.” The valley floor provides suffi- year lifespan, which includes overOn weekdays Ruhlin has eight Bobcat skid steer and a Caterpillar cient space for the cranes that will lays in the future. The last overlay or nine people on site to prepare mini-hoe. When the main work be brought in — 80-ton (72.6 t) on the deck was done in the 1990s. the crossovers for traffic diversion begins, possibly two 80-ton (72.6 Link-Belt cranes and 60-ton (54 t) Approximately 13,000 cu. yds. for the main work that begins in t) Link-Belt 138 cranes will be Grove 760E all-terrain cranes. (9,939 cu m) of concrete will be 2014, as well as preparation for brought in, as well as one RT760E, The principal work is the removed. A similar amount of con- some shoulder rebuilding and all-terrain forklift and support removal of the 11-in. (28 cm) concrete and rebar will be installed. widening work. On weekends vehicles such as the Komatsu 228S crete decking, which will be done “We’re planning on recycling all when lanes can be closed for a and a Caterpillar D5 bulldozer. in phases via the removal of slabs of it,” said Ruhlin Jr. “There are longer period of time, as was the see RUHLIN page 7

Page 2 • October 12, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Ohio State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

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‘Buckeye State’ Highway Lettings

The Ohio State Department of Transportation received bids for transportation-related improvement projects. The following is a list of some of the projects let. Project No: 130233 Type: Two lane resurfacing. Location: HUR-US-250-00.73. State Estimate: $2,312,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Erie Blacktop Inc., Sandusky, Ohio — $2,582,949 • Gerken Paving Inc., Napoleon, Ohio — $2,645,483 Completion Date: Aug. 31, 2014 Project No: 138017 Type: Bridge replacement (2 bridges). Location: MAH-US-224-19.53, PART1; MAH-224-19.80, PART2. State Estimate: $5,753,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • A P O’Horo Company, Youngstown, Ohio — $5,421,000 • Shelly & Sands Inc., Columbus, Ohio — $5,698,419 • J D Williamson Construction Co Inc., Tallmadge, Ohio — $5,817,858 see ODOT page 5

Construction Equipment Guide • Ohio State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • October 12, 2013 • Page 3

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Page 4 • October 12, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Ohio State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Cleveland’s General Aviation Airport Bill Would Help Gets $20 Million Runway Makeover Ohio Cities Raze Vacant Homes CLEVELAND (AP) Cleveland’s general aviation airport is getting a runway makeover. The $20 million project at Burke Lakefront Airport at the edge of downtown Cleveland includes installation of a 400-ft. (122 m) stretch of “collapsible concrete.” That will slow down or stop an aircraft that’s unable to brake on its

own. Navigation equipment will be improved and a new taxiway will be built. The cost will be shared by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Cleveland Airport System. An airport spokeswoman said the project is on schedule to be completed in three

months. The other city-owned airport, Cleveland Hopkins International, had a similar “collapsible concrete” runway safety feature installed in 2011.

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) Ohio’s big cities this year will raze (This story also can be found on hundreds of vacant homes that are a danger and a drag on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web neighborhoods, but it’s not enough to keep up with the backsite at www.constructionequipment- log of empty buildings that number in the thousands. guide.com.) A proposal in Congress backed by Ohio’s Republican U.S. Sen. Rob Portman is aiming to speed up the work. Portman has been meeting with mayors and big city officials this summer to tout a bill that would transfer $60 million left over from foreclosure relief funds to housing demolition in the state. An estimated 100,000 homes in the state are dilapidated and should be torn down, according to The Western Reserve Land Conservancy, a land conservation based in suburban Cleveland. Cities want to get rid of vacant buildings to stabilize property values, reduce crime, and improve the quality of life in neighborhoods. Vacant buildings are convenient targets for arsonists and drug dealers. City officials in Cleveland said last year that there are 8,500 houses ready to be razed. In Toledo, the city said 3,000 homes are in need of being torn down. Dayton plans to spend more than $5 million to demolish 475 abandoned structures this year in an effort to speed up the number of vacant houses and buildings being demolished. Portman wants unspent money in a fund Congress created in 2010 to help states that have had the biggest decline in home prices to be freed up for home demolitions. U.S. Reps. Marcia Fudge, David Joyce and Marcy Kaptur — all who represent parts of northern Ohio — also are behind the plan. “This is a partnership, one place we can help, to improve home values, which is where the money started with,” Portman said while in Lima in July. “If you have houses like this in the neighborhood, it’s hard to see your home value go up.” Ohio U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, thinks a bigger share of the money should go toward housing counseling and foreclosure prevention. Lima Mayor David Berger said his city has 1,200 that are worthy of being demolished. The city normally spends about $150,000 a year to get rid of about 30 structures. Berger said the city would need more than $5 million needed just to deal with all of its abandoned properties. “We just don’t have that,” he said. Portman attended the demolition of a vacant home in Toledo that was cheered by neighbors on Friday. Priscilla Zaborski, who lives next to the house, said she and her cousin who lives on the other side plan to buy the empty lot so that their children to have a larger yard. “I’m happy about it because you get rodents and everything,” Zaborski said. “And it’s not safe.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)

Construction Equipment Guide • Ohio State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • October 12, 2013 • Page 5

Wood • Hamilton • Stark • Henry • Greene • Knox • Franklin • Ohio...• Crawford • Union • Cuyahoga • Brown • Licking • Clermont Medina • Williams • Harrison • Adams • Mercer • Butler • Clark • Ashtabula • Sandusky • Portage • Athens • Logan • Lake • Erie • Wyandot • Warren • Fairfield • Miami • Paulding • Darke •

‘Buckeye State’ Highway Lettings ODOT from page 2

• Marucci & Gaffney Excavating Company. Youngstown, Ohio — $6,249,315 Completion Date: Nov. 1, 2014 Project No: 130260 Type: Bikeways. Location: GRE-PA-BIKEWAY REHABILITATION. State Estimate: $1,285,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Barrett Paving Materials Inc., Middletown, Ohio — $1,069,794 • John R Jurgensen Company, Cincinnati, Ohio — $1,094,115 Completion Date: Oct. 15, 2013 Project No: 130264 Type: Resurfacing (4-lane). Location: HEN-US-6/24-10.94/9.80. State Estimate: $9,172,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Shelly Company, Thornville, Ohio — $9,568,788 • Gerken Paving Inc., Napoleon, Ohio — $9,615,738 Completion Date: Oct. 31, 2013 Project No: 130287 Type: Miscellaneous. Location: BUT-SR/WAR-63-1.99/0.00. State Estimate: $1,119,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Miller Cable Company, Green Springs, Ohio — $947,875 • Complete General Construction Company, Columbus, Ohio — $1,014,410 • Bansal Construction Inc., Fairfield, Ohio — $1,002,225 • Capital Electric Line Builders Inc., Riverside, Mo. — $1,181,438 • 21st Century Concrete Construction Inc., Cleveland, Ohio — $1,306,352 Completion Date: May 31, 2014 Project No: 130292 Type: Bridge repair. Location: HAM-VA-BM-FY2013. State Estimate: $1,365,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Reliant Enterprises LLC, Lawrenceburg, Ind. — $1,635,127 • Sunesis Construction Company, West

Chester, Ohio — $1,852,719 Completion Date: Nov. 22, 2013 Project No: 130294 Type: Bridge repair. Location: FAI-IR/LIC-IR 70/VARIOUS PART 1; LIC-70-VARIOUS - PART 2. State Estimate: $2,755,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Complete General Construction Company, Columbus, Ohio — $2,494,641 • Shelly & Sands Inc., Columbus, Ohio — $2,624,092 Completion Date: July 31, 2014 Project No: 130295 Type: Two lane resurfacing. Location: FRA-SR-317-0.34. State Estimate: $1,126,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Shelly & Sands Inc., Columbus, Ohio — $1,101,165 • Kokosing Construction Company Inc., Columbus, OHio — $1,118,118 • Shelly Company, Thornville, Ohio — $1,185,120 Completion Date: Oct. 31, 2013 Project No: 130302 Type: Two lane resurfacing. Location: ROS-US-23-0.00;PIK-23-15.84. State Estimate: $3,679,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Shelly & Sands Inc., Columbus, Ohio — $3,450,503 • Shelly Company, Thornville, Ohio — $3,484,863 Completion Date: Oct. 31, 2013 Project No: 130303 Type: Four lane resurfacing. Location: SAN-US-20-26.52. State Estimate: $1,722,000 Contractors and Bid Amounts: • Gerken Paving Inc., Napoleon, Ohio — $1,558,951 • M & B Asphalt Company Inc., Tiffin, Ohio — $1,676,324 • Erie Blacktop Inc., Sandusky, Ohio — $1,757,382 • Kokosing Construction Company Inc., Columbus, Ohio — $1,868,789 Completion Date: Oct. 31, 2013

Columbus 2121 Walcutt Rd Columbus, OH 43228-9575 (614) 876-1141 (800) 222-2010

Canton 1509 Raff Rd SW Canton, OH 44710-2321 (330) 477-9304 (866) 235-0438

Cincinnati 11441 Mosteller Rd Cincinnati, OH 45241-1829 (513) 772-3232 (800) 844-3734

Brunswick 1240 Industrial Pkwy N Brunswick, OH 44212-4317 (330) 220-4999 (800) 716-9796

Vandalia (Dayton) 1015 Industrial Park Dr Vandalia, OH 45377-3117 (937) 898-4198 (800) 233-4228

Painesville 811 Callendar Blvd Painesville, OH 44077-1218 (440) 639-0700 (866) 800-1398

Lima 3550 Saint Johns Rd Lima, OH 45804-4017 (419) 221-3666 (800) 423-7445

Poland (Youngstown) 590 E Western Reserve Rd Bldg 3 Poland, OH 44514-3393 (330) 629-6299 (866) 503-7259 Chillicothe 5775 US Highway 23 Chillicothe, OH 45601-9562 (740) 663-5300 Cambridge 60611 Hulse Rd Cambridge, OH 43725-8937 (740) 439-2747

Page 6 • October 12, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Ohio State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide

Operation Disruptions...

Cuyahoga County Considers Eliminating Payment Bonds Ohio’s Cuyahoga County is the latest jurisdiction to attack subcontractor payment protections. On Aug. 12 and 21, the county’s Public Works, Procurement and Contracting Committee heard testimony and debated an ordinance proposed by the County Executive and the Director of the Law Department, which would eliminate payment bonds on county construction projects. In an Aug. 19 letter, ASA called on committee members

to oppose the proposed ordinance. “On a typical construction project, a subcontractor extends a significant amount of credit to its prime contractor,” ASA Chief Advocacy Officer E. Colette Nelson said. “The subcontractor pays its employees and suppliers before it submits an invoice to its prime contractor customer. Slow or no payment from its customer can rapidly erode the cash flow of a subcontractor and disrupt its ability to continue operations. The smaller and less experi-

enced the subcontractor, the more rapidly its operations will be devastated by slow or no payment. This is particularly problematic for small and emerging subcontractors on projects for construction owners that aggressively encourage their prime contractors to subcontract to historically underutilized businesses.” (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)

Construction on Pipeline Begins in Eastern Ohio

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HUDSON

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3155 E. 17th Avenue Columbus, Ohio 43219 P: (614) 475-2880 F: (614) 475-0069

8131 Regal Lane West Chester, Ohio 45069 P: (513) 777-5556 F: (513) 777-4494

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One of the many natural gas pumps that have sprung up around Ohio in recent years.

(AP) Work on an underground pipeline to transport liquid petroleum products across Ohio has begun in the eastern part of the state. The pipeline will connect to existing lines between Pennsylvania and Texas, crossing at least 13 counties in Ohio. The 1,230-mi. (1,979.5 km) Appalachia-to-Texas Express Pipeline is a project of Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners. Company officials have said the pipeline will bring about 4,000 construction and full-time jobs to the area and boost local communities’ tax revenue. Some Muskingum County residents have opposed the pipeline, saying it will tear up the county. But farmer Wayne Graham has leased some of his Frazeysburg property for a makeshift pipe yard for the project. He said the company has promised to restore his land after construction is completed. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.)

Construction Equipment Guide • Ohio State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • October 12, 2013 • Page 7

Issues Include Placing New Steel Onto Existing Abutments RUHLIN from page 1

Ruhlin will be using much of its own equipment, which was purchased from dealers in Cleveland and Sharon Center such as Cat 330 excavators and Volvo 120 loaders from Ohio CAT and Rudd Equipment. If equipment is to be rented, the company often goes to Ohio CAT and other local vendors. “We might buy some material processors — some cruncher-type attachments for our excavators to help us process the concrete faster,” said Ruhlin Jr., “but other than that, it’s a fairly straight-forward project equipment-wise.” There are no plans to have onsite equipment manager as the project is only a 30 to 45 minute drive from the company’s main shop in Sharon Center. “Much of the maintenance will be handled locally by us,” said Ruhlin Jr., with Matt Bush, Ruhlin’s equipment manager looking after the routine maintenance and repairs. “We do not necessarily need to have a fulltime onsite mechanic and people will be dispatched to the site on ‘as needed’ basis.” Due to the precise scheduling for the project, Bush and his staff are preparing vehicle and equipment lists and the dispatching of them to the site. With the company engaged in many projects throughout the state, the shifting of vehicles and equipment from site to site must be carefully coordinated and each piece needs to be properly examined before the transfers. This pre-planning also applies to the scheduling of the construction work, which Ruhlin Jr. said will be the “key to success.” While the deck replacement is limited to a specific period, the structural work provides Ruhlin with more flexibility. As of press time Ruhlin has just completed a smaller bridge project — the building of

a new $1.5 million railway bridge (CD214.30) for the Norfolk Southern Corporation in Amherst, Ohio (45 minutes west of Cleveland). The work was done in three phases — the prep and construction of the two bridge sections which began in May, 2013 and the replacement of the two halves of the bridge on August 11 and 25 “We are essentially building a new bridge on moveable falsework beside the existing bridge and during each outage (temporary closure of the railway line),” said Matt English, Ruhlin’s project manager for the Structures Division, “we are tearing out half of the old bridge and rolling in half of the new bridge in a 24-hour period. For each installation, we cut the existing bridges in half and lift each half out with the excavators. For being such a small bridge replacement, this is one of the hardest one’s I’ve ever done. “After removing the existing bridges, new concrete supports were erected on the existing abutments,” he added, “and the new bridge sections were rolled in and jacked down to do the final connections. Then the railway department had four hours to go in and put ballast down, new tracks, tie the rails and align them.” The three-track bridge, roughly 40 ft. (12 m) in length, has electrical wires above it that could not be relocated and below is a two-lane road crucial to local traffic flow. Safety for the construction crews and passing motorists were key and this also impacted how equipment and materials were delivered to the site. Another issue was placing new steel onto existing bridge foundations and abutments. “The existing abutments were built in 1891 and over the last 100 years the railroad has repaired this bridge countless times with

The $27.4 million Ohio Department of Transportation project also includes structure repairs, concrete patching work, and other infrastructure for the bridge built in 1976.

few records remaining of what the repairs entailed,” said English, “so when we got into the demolition, some of the repairs really affected the removal portion. There was some extra concrete and reinforcement that did not show up on any of the plans. Lessons were learned during the first outage that modified our approach to the demolition for the second outage.” During the bridge construction phase, there were about 8 to 10 workers on site and during the two installation days, there were 40 to 50 people on site. Much of the old bridge is being recycled in terms of concrete (150 tons [136 t]), steel (200 tons [181 t]) and wood (20 tons [18 t]). The new bridge, with improved concrete and steel, consists of 100 tons (90.7 t) of concrete and 150 tons of steel. The project was intensive in terms of equipment. Ruhlin brought in two Caterpillar 349EL excavators, two Komatsu PC228 USLC excavators, two Caterpillar loaders — a 120G and an L70E, and a Kubota mini-excavator — a KX0080-3 both from its fleet and rented from Ohio CAT. Three cranes were rented from Clevelandbased ALL Crane and Erection — a GMK 6250L — a 250 ton (227 t) hydraulic crane and two Shuttlelift 5540 industrial cranes. A Telebelt conveyor 110 from Howard Concrete Pumping was used to place backfill material to minimize interruptions to rail traffic. “We were able to do most of the work without cranes and for the two installation days,” said English, “the excavators and loaders were the essential pieces of equipment on site to help us meet the deadline.” Mechanics were sent from Ruhlin’s shop when needed to do regular maintenance and repairs — inspection by operators helped

The bridge spans the Cuyahoga River Valley, with the river only covering five percent of the terrain covered by the span.

ensure maximum efficiency, but for the bridge installation, several mechanics were on site to ensure any work stoppages were minimized. “Getting equipment up on the rails is very difficult and time sensitive,” said English. “Luckily most of the equipment we used is fairly new or brand new so relocating the equipment to the various locations required has gone well.” Ben Neal, the project superintendent, served as the de facto onsite equipment manager and he appreciated the efforts of his crew to ensure equipment disruptions were minimized. “Time limitations, accessibility, and limited work space made this a difficult project,” he said. “All trades did a great job working together to limit down time for critical activities and shop and yard support were key to the successful completion of the project.” Ruhlin has worked on three railway bridges in the past year and will be working on additional projects for the Norfolk Southern Corporation. “They are all similar in terms of limited outages to remove and replace a bridge,” said English. “Each one is unique in its own way. The one Amherst project is more of a lift out/roll-in job, while others are straight roll out/roll-ins and we’ve had some that are lift-out/lift-in. Despite the uniqueness and challenges of each project the experience gained always benefits future operations.” On average, these small railway bridge projects are valued between $1.3 and $2 million each and when combined as a whole, represent a major component of the structural division’s annual work. (This story also can be found on Construction Equipment Guide’s Web site at www.constructionequipmentguide.com.) CEG

The Ruhlin Company, based in Sharon Center, Ohio (40 mi. south of Cleveland), was awarded the contract in April 2013.

Page 8 • October 12, 2013 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Ohio State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide