Rare Inclined Elevator Nears Completion at Pilgrim Monument

UCANE member Robert B. Our Co, Inc. heads up group of experts on a very unique project in Provincetown, MA.

A team of Cape Cod contractors is headed towards the home stretch on the construction of a rare, inclined elevator at one of the nation’s top historic sites, the Pilgrim Monument in Provincetown, MA. Led by Harwich, MA based Robert B. Our Co., Inc., the contracting team made up of a mix of trade partners from across the Cape and specialists from as far afield as Colorado and Switzerland, is putting the finishing touches on the $5M project being built for the Cape Cod Pilgrims Memorial Association (CCPMA).

Pilgrim Monument Overlooking Provincetown Harbor Built in 1910

(Left Photo): Robert Our’s Project Team at the new Bradford Street Platform (l-r): Site Superintendent Harold Bohl; Assistant Project Manager Kaitlyn Jillson; Vice President Robbie Our; and Project Manager Kevin Trombly, (Right Photo): Robert Our crew Installing rail supports along the steep slope

Built in 1910, the Pilgrim Monument at 252-feet-tall is the tallest granite structure in the United States and a popular attraction for both locals and tourists. Dubbed the Bradford Access Project, the inclined elevator will create an additional entrance to the historic site, where access has been long restricted by geography. Generations of visitors to downtown Provincetown have stared up at the monument and museum at the top of the 85-foot-high site known as High Pole Hill, with no direct way up. While the Our Company is the General Contractor, other team members include landscape architects Hawk Design, Inc. of Sandwich; architects Brown, Lindquist, Fenuccio & Raber of Yarmouth Port; Safe Harbor Environmental Consultants of Wellfleet; McMahon Transportation Engineers & Planners of Taunton; Arrowstreet of Boston; BOLD Lighting of Los Angeles and New York City; Outdoor Engineers of Colorado and Switzerland; and Elevator Service Company of Torrington, CT.

Coastal Engineering Co. of Orleans, MA. is the Engineer of Record for the Bradford Access Project. The firm was also Engineer of Record to a recently-completed comprehensive restoration and renovation of the monument’s interior structure. While granite is virtually indestructible, sections of concrete embedded with steel had absorbed moisture and salt spray, causing the steel to corrode and disintegrate. Working with California based Fibrwrap Construction Services Inc., Coastal recommended a state-of-the-art advanced polymer fiber technology to reinforce the structure with a moisture-proof exoskeleton system, all while respecting the monument’s historic authenticity.

Both projects were planned to be completed in advance of the 400th Anniversary of the arrival of the Mayflower and the first European settlers to America’s shores.

Construction of the inclined elevator project started in late summer 2020 and is slated to be up and running by early summer of 2021. The project will better connect the monument to pedestrian traffic in downtown Provincetown. A 20’ x 20’ ADA Compliant boarding station or train-type platform was constructed at the base of the hill on Bradford Street. A second boarding platform was constructed at the top of the hill near the base of the monument. The two boarding stations are connected by a dual continued on page 31

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set of heavy rails 120 feet long at an incline of 45 degrees.

According to Coastal Engineering’s President John Bologna, “The inclined elevator is a custom-designed single tram system (as opposed to a “funicular,” which is a dual tram system that counts on the opposing cab for counterweight). The tram will run on a track at a speed of approximately 200 feet per minute. The rail car will be able to transport up to 18 passengers between the two boarding stations in about two minutes.”

The project team faced the significant challenge of erecting a mini railway on a hill that is effectively a large sand dune, reflective of the terrain across the windswept Lower Cape. Deep foundation work was required to support the two station platforms and also at six points along the rail. Creating temporary work platforms on the intermediate points along the rail was no easy task, according to Our Co’s. Project Manager Kevin Trombly. “We are horizontal contractors, but we don’t run across too many jobs on a 45-degree angle. Building those intermediate rail supports and drilling 40-foot helical pilings at all of them along the slope was a challenge,” says Trombly. “We had Geo mats draped over the hill to prevent the sand from shifting or washing away in the rain, while at the same time our workers were using rope ladders to climb between the six work stations.”

Extensive dewatering was also required for the 15-foot-deep foundation on the Bradford Street boarding station where the water table was only 4-feet below grade. A steel sheet-pile cofferdam was constructed in addition to a well point system so that helical piles could be driven at subgrade to support the precast pit for the elevator.

Arriving from Switzerland several weeks ago, the rail car was the last delivery in the critical path after being delayed by customs at both ends of the trip due to pandemic protocols. The car has been successfully tested and is expected to have its inaugural run with local and state dignitaries in June. The inclined elevator, with a capacity for 18 riders, is one of the largest in the world and only the second of its kind in New England. It is expected to be open to the general public by July 4, 2021.

Once the inclined elevator goes into service, it is expected to boost revenue with an estimated 33% to 55% increase in visitors to the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum, said K. David Weidner, executive director of the Pilgrim Monument and Provincetown Museum. The Museum has previously averaged between 90,000 and 100,000 visitors a year, he said. Weidner said he was impressed with the way the project team worked together. “This has been a symbiotic relationship, and they have gone through a lot of iterations to get this thing built,” he said.

Funds for the project were raised by the CCPMA, the continued on page 33

18 Passenger Elevator Car at the Bradford St. Platform

Bradford Street Platform under construction

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Cape’s oldest non-profit organization and the same group that built the Monument in 1910. With a combination of grants, donations, and increased revenue from ridership, the group hopes to payoff the construction loan within 10 years.

One donor who is familiar to all UCANE members and to many Massachusetts residents is local contractor, (and long-time UCANE member), Jay Cashman, Inc. from Quincy, MA. Owner Jay Cashman has had a special historical connection to the Pilgrim Monument. He graciously donated $150,000 to the inclined elevator fund and has provided behind the scene assistance, resources, and expert advice to both CCPMA and Robert B. Our Co., Inc. throughout the project.

According to Jay, “My ties with the Pilgrim Monument run deep: My great-great-uncle, John Cashman, immigrated to the U.S. from Ireland with his parents and a sibling. He worked as a marine contractor from the end of the 1800s until he died in 1913.”

“He owned a quarry in Stonington, Maine, from where the granite blocks used to build the Monument were cut. John transported the blocks on a barge from Maine to Provincetown. Once they arrived, they were loaded onto a rail system that moved them up to the top of High Pole Hill. I guess you could say that the rail system was the original inclined elevator! John helped lay the cornerstone along with President Theodore Roosevelt when construction began in 1907.”

UCANE is proud to count the Robert B. Our Co., Inc. as a long time UCANE member. We congratulate them for their outstanding work on a truly unique project on Cape Cod that will benefit the Provincetown Community for generations to come. n

Rail System in place for Inclined Elevator