Dinosaurs in the Mist

© Stuart Pearl 2011 - Click on Images to Enlarge

It was like a misty prehistoric forest. Steel heads rose and fell, biting into chunks of concrete and rebar as rain covered their bodies. The high velocity spray was like a cascade from some primordial waterfall.

July 19, 2011

Cleveland Cold Storage sat here for more than 75 years. Now only mechanical jaws foraged in the rubble strewn landscape, roaming the mounds of the old building, picking at its carcass.

The ground will have to be cleared and stabilized before bridge construction reaches this land. The near slope has been one of the problem areas over the years, putting pressure on the river bulkheads.

In the past lateral ground pressure had slightly shifted the expansion joints on the current Innerbelt bridge. This required complicated repairs. Regrading the slope down to the river will avoid these conditions in the future.

July 19, 2011

In my July 17 blog I had images of wrecking machinery that resembled the carnivorous dinosaurs of millenia past. These pictures show the less aggressive creatures, browsing through the fields of smashed concrete and steel.

Carefully picking their way through the concrete they will separate stone from steel, the separate materials to be recycled into some other project.

July 19, 2011

7/1/2011
7/1/2011

The completed bridge piers of the new structure will be stained white. This will present a bright canvas for aesthetic lighting that will highlight the bridge architecture. That will likely begin in the fall of 2013 when the (first) westbound bridge is completed with its 5 lanes.

July 19 - Workers continue to install the rebar reinforcing rods at W. 3rd St. on what will become bridge pier #9. Above this section the cement forms will be installed for the curved portion of the pier that will flair out to hold the roadway.

Decorative grooves have been imprinted into the concrete as part of the design work for each pier.

August 5, 2011

Several months into the project the path of the new Westbound bridge is becoming apparent as it crosses the Flats valley. This view from Canal Road shows the "H" Piers that will form the foundation of bride Pier #10. These will be pounded into the ground until bedrock is reached. The current Innerbelt bridge is to the left. The Lorain-Carnegie (Hope Memorial) bridge can be seen on the right.

With the Nortfolk & Southern Railway trestle in the distance, Pier #9 is changing shape as the curved cement forms are being attached.

August 5, 2011

The forms are coated with a special material to allow easier removal once the cement has dried.

A forest of "H" beams rises from location of what will be bridge Pier #10 just below and west of Canal Road. The two eastern most Guardians of Transportation can be seen flanking the Hope Memorial Bridge in the background.

7/29/2011

The former site of Cleveland Cold Storage seems nearly picked clean by the excavation team.

The basement foundation walls can now be clearly seen. These will have to be completely removed and the ground stabilized in preparation for the westbound bridge supports.

The diggers cruise the edge of Tremont, removing the last portion of Cold Storage.

Just West of the University Inn and adjacent to the W.14th St. Innerbelt ramp sits the Greek Orthodox Church of Annunciation. It's beautiful golden domes illuminate the landscape even on cloudy days.

The excavators have begun stabilizing the hillside on the west bank just below Tremont. When the new Eastbound bridge is completed in 2016 it will land near this area.

Tremonts unique neighborhood displays much decorative character. Sometimes you will find simple artistic expression attached to a yard fence.

For comprehensive viewing, all of my Innerbelt Construction images can be seen HERE.