SUMMIT COUNTY, Ohio (Dec. 10, 2020) — The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission (OTIC) has selected Woolpert to replace two bridges over Tinkers Creek on the Ohio Turnpike (Interstate 80) in Summit County. Woolpert will provide bridge and roadway design, maintenance of traffic, survey, mobile lidar and unmanned aircraft system mapping, as well as manage the geotechnical and environmental engineering for the project.

Woolpert Program Director and Senior Engineer Mike Avellano said the firm will sequence the removal of the existing, 66-year-old bridges to maintain two lanes of traffic in each direction at all times, while completely replacing both structures. The new twin bridges will match the existing structure widths of 63 feet each with three lanes in both directions, spanning Tinkers Creek. The new design will be executed with a goal of shortening the existing 1,000-foot-long structures by as much as 40%.

“The bridges are being built over a waterway and wetland, so part of our design focus will be to minimize environmental impact,” Avellano said. “The trick will be to balance any environmental impacts against shortening the bridges, which will benefit the Turnpike and toll payers by having less bridge to maintain in the future.”

Woolpert is an international architecture, engineering and geospatial (AEG) firm that was founded in 1911 and remains headquartered in Dayton, Ohio. The firm works with multiple state departments of transportation, municipalities, federal agencies and private clients on innovative infrastructure solutions.

The firm has five Ohio offices to support this project, which will be based out of the Columbus office. Woolpert is partnering with subconsultants Compass Infrastructure Group, ASC Group, CTL Engineering and True Inspection Services.

“These bridge designs will be optimized for least first cost as well as with long-term maintenance costs in mind, ensuring all OTIC needs are met, while providing safe passage for Ohio drivers and protecting the environment,” Avellano said. “We’re excited to get underway.”

The bridges will be designed in 2021 and construction is expected to take place in FY 2023 and 2024.

About Woolpert
Woolpert is committed to a vision to become the premier architecture, engineering, geospatial (AEG) and strategic consulting firm, and one of the best companies in the world. It’s a vision we’ve been fine-tuning for decades. It guides our decisions and investments, provides our clients with optimal solutions and offers our employees unrivaled opportunities. Woolpert is recognized as a Great Place to Work by its employees and is America’s fastest-growing AEG firm. With more than a century of experience, over 1,000 employees and 39 offices, Woolpert supports public, private, federal, and U.S. military clients nationally and around the globe. For more information, visit woolpert.com and connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.