Bridge Building Timelines

1. Bridge Building Timelines Presented by The Richland County Engineers Office Thomas E. Beck, PE, PS 77 North Mulberry Street Mansfield, Ohio 44902 Jan. 13, 2009

2. Financial Facts Of Life • Current local tax revenue completely inadequate to handle all needed county infrastructure work. • Bridge construction almost completely dependent on obtaining federal and state grants available for bridge construction. • Federal and state funds are limited. • Richland County is the third largest user of bridge funds in the state. • Partially reimbursed for design, construction time & materials.

3. Federal Grant Applications • Obtaining federal grants for bridge construction is a long, slow process. • Typically it takes 4 to 5 years from the time we make application for funding, until the new bridge is completed.

4. Federal Grant Application Steps • Application • Review and ranking by CEAO • Review by ODOT • Approval – this approval designates the year in which funding will be available.

5. Site Survey • Site survey • Title search (collect deeds, surveys, owners names, address) • Recover and/or establish property lines/corners, section lines/corners • Determine existing right of way lines • Obtain elevation data for roads and streams. • Locate all utilities • Convert survey data to digital data for CAD so site plan can be prepared.

6. Hydraulic Analysis • Hydraulic analysis – Proposed structure must be adequate to handle projected water flows per design criteria. • Includes historical weather/climate data showing average rainfall, periods of flooding and volume of water

7. Decision on Bridge Type Bridge design is tailored to specifics needs of site Steel Truss Reinforced Concrete Box Beam Reinforced Concrete Box Bridge Timber Bridge

8. Design Phase • Design: (design must meet all state and federal standards for the type of bridge to be built) • Stage 1drawings – preliminary design • Stage 2plans – submit to ODOT for approval • Stage 3 final design • (note: ODOT may return the plans for modifications)

9. Environmental Review • Submit environmental document showing environmental impact of the proposed bridge construction including: • Streams and wetlands • Threatened or Endangered species • Floodplains and farmlands • Cultural and Historical • Hazardous materials • Public Involvement

10. Permit Approvals • Army Corps of Engineers • FEMA • Ohio EPA • ODNR • Others

11. Rights of Way Acquisition • Rights of Way • ODOT right of way agreement needed before right of way can be sought. • Acquire ROW: (again, federal and state requirements must be adhered to in this acquisition process)

12. Rights of Way Acquisition • Three means of right of way acquisition • Donation • Negotiation • Eminent Domain

13. Rights of Way Acquisition Donation • Property owners can donate the ROW easement for the process (when this occurs it greatly speeds construction of the bridge). • Easy and quick

14. Rights of Way Acquisition Negotiation • Appraisal • Appraisal review • Title report • Acquisition negotiations • Agreement • Payment • This process will most likely add 6 months to the project time frame.

15. Rights of Way Acquisition Eminent Domain Proceedings • If negotiation is not successful then Legal process is instituted involving court approval of the acquisition. • Adds at least an additional 6 more months to the process • Court action also increases project costs

16. Bidding, Award and Contracting • Prepare Bids • Advertise Bids (3 weeks) • Pre bid meetings when needed • Opening of Bids • Bid review – lowest/best • Bid acceptance, award by Board of Commissioners • Legal contract execution. • Mandatory pre-construction meeting with ODOT, engineers, utilities and contractors.

17. Finally Construction Starts • Basic Bridge Construction Steps • Site clearing and preparation • Excavation , grading and drainage. • Foundation work • Abutment construction • Bridge superstructure and deck • Paving • Guard rail, seeding and site restoration • Inspection and testing occurs throughout entire construction process

18. Some Facts About Crimson Road Bridge Project

19. Crimson Road Facts • Application for federal grant funding was made on August 3, 2005. Approval was obtained on October 31, 2005. Note: this approval specified funding to be available for construction in the year 2010. • Due to accelerated deterioration bridge was closed June 23, 2008. • The bridge was designated to be replaced approximately five years ago. Since June 18, 2007, the bridge has been inspected monthly. • As monthly inspections revealed, the old bridge was rapidly nearing a dangerous condition. • The Engineer’s staff succeeded in getting the funding approval advanced to 2009.

20. Crimson Road Facts • Bids could have been obtained and construction possibly underway in 2008 but……. • Adjacent property owners chose not to donate the needed ROW easements. This involved very small portions of four parcels at little projected value. • There is no easy, inexpensive temporary fix which can be made to extend the bridge’s life. The major steel beams which support the bridge deck are rusted to the point that it is simply no longer safe to permit vehicles on the bridge.

21. Summary • Bridge construction is a complex and drawn out process requiring long lead times for funding approval, design, environmental review , permitting, bidding and contracting. • Right of way acquisition can speed up or slow down the process considerably • The Richland County Engineers Office will continue to diligently pursue the successful completion of the Crimson Road bridge project.