KS Associates provided funding assistance and design services for the replacement of the Highbridge Road Bridge. The original bridge, a wooden structure built in 1910, was removed in the 1980s and was not replaced, making it impossible to cross Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks at Highbridge Road. The new bridge carries vehicles over Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks and provides direct access to the southeastern quadrant of the City – important for emergency response teams.
The obstacle that the City had to overcome to make the project a reality was to secure funding. In 2010, KS Associates assisted the City in securing $1,440,000 in federal funding through the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Municipal Bridge Program to help move the project forward. As the project progressed, KS Associates assisted the City in securing an additional $200,000 in Federal funds for Railroad force account work, a $175,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission, and $56,000 in federal funds for Right-of-Way acquisition.
In 2011 KS Associates prepared a Bridge Type Study that analyzed several design alternatives. In 2015 KS Associates was authorized to move forward with design. The cost-effective design is a 125-foot simple-span steel girder superstructure on semi-integral concrete abutments supported by drilled shafts.
In addition to designing and preparing final improvement plans and specifications to meet ODOT standards, services included: surveying; leading the public involvement effort; obtaining geotechnical and Right-of-Way acquisition services; preparing Right-of-Way plans; railroad coordination; and bidding services.
In July 2017, the City awarded a construction contract to Mosser Construction, Inc. Construction is complete, and the bridge officially opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on October 30, 2018.
In 2019, The Lake Erie Section of the American Society of Highway Engineers (ASHE) awarded KS Associates an Outstanding Transportation Project Award in the “Projects Under $10 Million in Construction” category. Read more.
