Bascule Bridge: Letters to ODOT

In our (seemingly) neverending quest to find out what’s going on with the Bascule Bridge; in our desire to find out when, except for this:

that this

will look like this again!

 

I wrote Brian Stacy, District 3 Public Information Officer for ODOT, a letter shortly after the last meeting (at City Hall). And I asked:

Mr. Stacy,

I attended the meeting at Lorain’s City Hall Friday, and was curious about something. Since ODOT is responsible for the bridge and its upkeep, doesn’t ODOT have blueprints/diagrams of the working parts of the bridge? Mr. Wright stated that when the older parts were removed, that “there were additional parts that were totally unforeseen.” Over the course of the years that ODOT has performed maintenance on the bridge, was he suggesting that ODOT isn’t as familiar with the mechanics of it as it probably should be? It almost sounds like he was saying that ODOT went into the project unawares of the workings of the bridge?

I’m just trying to understand, as there are a lot of folks looking to string someone up for the delays. I’d just like to get some info out there.

Thanks,

Mark Teleha

To which Brian Stacy replied,

Mr. Teleha,

Thank you again for contacting ODOT regarding the Charles Berry Bascule Bridge project, and for participating in Friday’s meeting. Thank you also for the additional information you provided in a separate email.

I appreciate your desire to simplify this situation and this project; however, this is a complex project with multiple issues and multiple entities working together in concert to get the project done as best as possible. ODOT is responsible for the bridge and does have plans from this and former projects to repair or maintain the bridge.

As has been noted, this bridge is 68-years-old and there are only five like it currently operating in the state of Ohio. This means that many of its parts and operations are much different than the other 42,000 bridges in Ohio. So, ODOT has brought in additional mechanical and electrical engineers who are familiar with this type of lift bridge to assist with specific elements of the project. ODOT is managing the project and overseeing the work of consultants Barr & Prevost, HNTB, and URS; as well as, the construction contractors Great Lakes Construction and Lake Erie Electric. All of these companies are working with ODOT to complete the maintenance and repair project.

During the work this summer, some unforeseen issues were identified and the necessary parts were ordered. ODOT’s first priority is get the bridge working again. We are also looking into where mistakes were made with this project and how they could have been avoided or prevented.

Respectfully,

Brian Stacy
District 3 Public Information Officer
Ohio Department of Transportation
800-276-4188, ext. 207-7182