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2017 BRIDGE INSPECTION REPORT

Lorain County Engineer


Ken Carney P.E., P.S.
February 6, 2018

Kipton Nickel Plate Road Bridge #0184, 2017 Construction

2017 Bridge Inspection Report Shaun J. Duffala, P.E.


Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1
Background ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Bridge Facts ................................................................................................................................................... 1
Types of Bridges ............................................................................................................................................ 2
Pre-stressed Box Beams ............................................................................................................................ 2
Concrete Slab ............................................................................................................................................ 3
Culvert Type Structures ............................................................................................................................ 3
Steel Beam ................................................................................................................................................ 3
Truss Type Structures................................................................................................................................ 4
Miscellaneous Structure Types ................................................................................................................. 4
Arch Type Structures................................................................................................................................. 4
Current Bridge General Appraisal Ratings .................................................................................................... 5
Bridge Projects Completed 2017 .................................................................................................................. 6
Anticipated Bridge Projects 2018 ................................................................................................................. 6

2017 Bridge Inspection Report i


Introduction
In accordance with Section 5543.20 of the Ohio Revised Code the County Engineer annually inspects and
reports the condition of all bridges on the county and township roads outside of municipalities and
bridges within municipalities on some former county roads.

A bridge, in Ohio, is defined as a structure with a clear span of ten (10) feet or more, measured along the
centerline of the roadway. The Lorain County Engineer’s Office is currently responsible for the
inspection of 232 bridges (up 1 from 2016). At the end of the year, the County Engineer reports the
condition of each inventory bridge to the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). ODOT maintains
a master inventory of every bridge in the State. ODOT also inspects the bridges on State and Federal
routes. Each state then reports their data to the Federal Highway Administration. In total, the State of
Ohio has approximately 45,000 bridges that are inspected by various counties, municipalities and ODOT,
the second largest inventory of all states. Sixty percent of these bridges in the state of Ohio are
maintained by County Engineers.

Background
After the collapse of the Silver Bridge, 1967 Point Pleasant, West Virginia, the United States Congress
added a section to the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 to establish a National Bridge Inspection
Standard. Ohio established its own inventory and reporting in 1973 to fulfill these requirements.

The collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis on August 1, 2007, brought the next big change to the
County Bridge Program. After the collapse, the County Engineers Association, ODOT and the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) reached an agreement in 2009 that all federal bridges (i.e. bridges 20
ft. or greater) must have a load analysis performed by October 1, 2013. Lorain County has performed an
analysis on each of their federal bridges, updating and maintaining a file for each bridge.

Since then Lorain County continues to perform analysis on bridges when required by the State or FHWA,
as well as when routine annual inspections indicate that a new analysis may be needed.

Bridge Facts
• The Lorain County Engineer's Office has 232 structures on the current bridge inventory, which
we are responsible for inspecting and maintaining.
• 110 of the structures are over 20 feet in span length, which is the length that the National
Bridge Inspection Standards requires inspection for. These structures qualify for federal
funding. All other structures are between 10 and 20 foot span, which are required by the State
of Ohio to inspect.
• 43.7 years is the average age of the bridge decks of the structures that Lorain County is
responsible for. It is worth noting that many of the abutments are actually much older than the
decks as many decks have been replaced with the reuse of the old abutments.
• The county annually inspects all bridges on the current bridge inventory as required by the ORC.
As part of this inspection, a report is made and bridges are rated on a scale from 9-0. With 9
being excellent condition, and 0 being failed. See sheet 5 of this report for a summary of ratings.

2017 Bridge Inspection Report 1


• There are 11 federal structures with weight restriction limits throughout the County, 7 of which
are scheduled to be replaced by 2023. Of the remaining four, two are closed (Waterfall Drive
No. 0017 and Oberlin-Elyria Rd No. 00.00(Historical)), the other two have been recently
rehabbed and are in low volume traffic locations (Gore Orphanage No. 2092 and Dean Road No.
0103).
• Longest bridge under County responsibility - 305 feet, East 31st Street, within the City of Lorain
over the Black River.
• Oldest known bridge - Garfield Road east of Quarry Road, sandstone arch built 1883. There are
8 other sandstone arches still in-service throughout the county built around the same time.
• Dean Road Bridge - the only open structure on the National Registry for Historic Places, built in
1898 and rehabilitated in 2013. Located on the Erie/Lorain County line just north of SR 113,
wrought iron double intersecting Pratt through truss with a wooden deck and sandstone
abutments.
• In 2017, six (6) bridges were replaced throughout the County and one additional bridge had a
new bridge deck placed. In 2018, it is anticipated that three (3) structures will be replaced and
an additional bridge will get a new deck.

Types of Bridges
Lorain County Bridges consist of several different types, using a variety of materials such as concrete,
steel, sandstone and timber. All of the bridges that Lorain County Engineer's Office are responsible for
have been classified below based on the superstructure (deck) make-up. The following shows the
various bridge types throughout the County.

Pre-stressed Box Beams


• 79 (34.1%) bridges are pre-stressed box
beam decks
• Beams are pre-cast in factory and
shipped to site
• Beams are pre-stressed by pulling high
tensile strength steel strand cables tight
through the lower portion of the beams
then released after the concrete has
cured.
• Abutments usually concrete on spread
footing or piling.
• Used regularly since the 1960’s
• Usually the most economical structure Placement of Box Beam on
with spans of 30-90 feet. Jaquay Rd Bridge No. 0087
• Can span 110 feet plus.

2017 Bridge Inspection Report 2


Concrete Slab
• 62 (26.7%) bridges are concrete slab
decks.
• Typically less than 30 feet in span, but
can be multi-span.
• Majority on our inventory built 1930’s-
1950’s
• Abutments either concrete or
combination of concrete and
sandstone.

Parsons Road Bridge #0435

Steel Beam
• 30 (12.9%) bridges have steel beam
decks.
• Beams can have concrete or steel
decking with asphalt driving surfaces
• Can be single or multi-span. The East
31st street bridge (305 ft. span) is a steel
beam bridge.
• Most commonly used in Lorain County
from the 1950’s-1960’s.
• Abutments usually concrete capped
Lowell Street Bridge #1126 piles.
(Center Span - Steel Beams)

Culvert Type Structures


• 27 (11.6%) bridges are classified as
culverts, which are structures under fill.
• Usually made of concrete or structural
steel plating.
• Concrete casted segments pushed
together, common today for structures
less than 14 feet in span.

Whitney Road Bridge #0214

2017 Bridge Inspection Report 3


Truss Type Structures
• 12 (5.2%) bridges are classified as truss
structures.
• Range in span from 40-170 feet.
• Very common late 1950’s early 1960’s.
• Load is carried by the truss arches to
the abutments.
• Abutments usually concrete on steel H
piles.
• Steel components painted or
galvanized.
Parsons Road Bridge #0782

Arch Type Structures


• 11 (4.7%) bridges classified as arches.
• Most made of sandstone between 1880
and early 1900’s.
• Can be constructed of steel plates
bolted together or concrete.
• Some of the sandstone arches have
been widened using steel plating or
concrete.

North Ridge Rd Bridge #0712

Miscellaneous Structure Types


• 11 (4.7%) bridges utilize either girder
floor systems (abandoned RR bridges)
or variations of the above structure
types.

Pre-stressed Concrete I-Beams


Under Parsons Rd Bridge #0242

2017 Bridge Inspection Report 4


Current Bridge General Appraisal Ratings
The General Appraisal rating for a bridge compares the physical condition of the bridge to its condition
when the bridge was brand new. It does not consider adequacy of design, only condition of structural
elements of the bridge, the stream channel and the roadway improvements. The adequacy of design is
determined through the sufficiency rating of the bridge and the load ratings that were required in 2013
to be performed on all County structures that are over 20 feet in span.

General 2017 2016 2014


Description
Appraisal Bridges Bridges Bridges
9 Excellent Condition 31 25 20
8 Very Good Condition 19 18 25
7 Good Condition 36 37 52
6 Satisfactory Condition 53 58 54
5 Fair Condition 53 51 33
4 Poor Condition 29 28 26
3 Serious Condition 7 9 9
2 Critical Condition 3 5 7
1 "Imminent Failure" Condition 1 0 1
0 Closed to Traffic 0 0 0

Number of Bridges by General Appraisal


70

60
Number of Bridges

50

40
2017 Bridges
30
2016 Bridges
20
2014 Bridges
10

0
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0
General Appraisal

2017 Bridge Inspection Report 5


Bridge Projects Completed 2017
Location Description Location Funding Final Cost
Kipton-Nickel Complete structure replacement 0.35 miles east of OPWC (89%) $266,158.05
Plate Road Hallauer Rd Lorain County (11%)
Bridge #0184
Bursley Road Complete structure replacement 0.15 miles west of CEAO (95%) $857,735.63
Bridge #0412 Baker Road Lorain County (5%)
Jones Road Complete structure replacement 0.57 miles east of OPWC (89%)
Bridge #0275 Quarry Road Lorain County (11%)
$143,089.00
Jones Road Complete structure replacement 0.05 miles east of (Two bridges were bid together)
Bridge #0223 Quarry Road
Folley Road Complete structure replacement 0.07 miles east of ODOT (100%) $438,550.00
Bridge #0007 (ODOT Bridge Partnership Program) Station Road
Snell Road Complete structure replacement 0.08 miles east of ODOT (100%) $407,020.00
Bridge #0067 (ODOT Bridge Partnership Program) Boone Road
Whitehead Road Superstructure Replacement 0.71 miles north of Lorain County (100%) $79,065.00
Bridge #0813 Parsons Road
Total $2,191,617.68

Anticipated Bridge Projects 2018


Location Description Location Funding Estimated Cost
Nickel Plate Complete structure replacement 0.16 miles south of OPWC (89%) $350,000
Diagonal Road Whitehead Road Lorain County (11%)
Bridge #0754
Island Road Complete structure replacement 0.62 miles south of OPWC (89%) $220,000
Bridge #0441 Capel Road Lorain County (11%)
Crook Street Complete structure replacement 0.21 miles west of ODOT (100%) $917,750
Bridge #0104 (ODOT Bridge Partnership Program) Chamberlain Road
Short Road Superstructure Replacement 0.14 miles east of Lorain County (100%) $90,600
Bridge #0014 Foster Road
Total $1,578,350

2017 Bridge Inspection Report 6

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