masonry structure, and work with
extremely limited space for materi-
als and deliveries. The solution: a
“building a ship in a bottle” ap-
proach to erect a new support struc-
ture inside the historic brick walls.
The masonry team recycled more
than 1,000 reclaimed bricks from an
interior wall to repair the building.
The three-story, 9,245-sq. ft. build-
ing now serves as home to more
than 70 full-time employees.
Best highway-heavy project under
$5 million: Glendale Pedestrian
Bridge, Glendale, SC
The project consisted of replac-
ing 5,200 rivets with high strength
bolts, replacing all lower chords
with higher grade steel, disassem-
bling and repairing the bearings, re-
placing all significantly corroded
steel, replacing the deteriorated as-
phalt deck with a new timber deck,
and a new paint job complete with
100 percent removal of existing
lead-based paint. The bridge also
received lighting, hand rails, and im-
proved access.
Because plans were not avail-
able, everything had to be field
measured to create the new set of
plans. Additionally, steel sizes,
General contractor: Carolina
Bridge Company, Inc.
The original bridge crossing Law-
son Creek, built in 1903 was re-
placed in 1928 with a Pratt Style
Truss on 1903 rock masonry piers.
The structure was then closed to
vehicle traffic in 1977 and then ulti-
mately abandoned. The challenge:
restoring the 89-year-old bridge
after 40 years of neglect.
Proud To partner with These Lines:
strengths, and fabrication tech-
niques have changed a lot in 89
years; therefore all restoration parts
had to be custom fabricated, requir-
ing structural steel cataloging, field
measuring, shop drawings, and fab-
rication. There were special challenges in
replacing the truss’s lower chords
and rivet replacement. Every con-
nection had to be analyzed to deter-
mine the correct sequence to
remove and replace the original riv-
ets, making sure not to damage the
surrounding steel, which could
cause a collapse. There were no
lost-time injuries.
Glendale Pedestrian Bridge
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The North Carolina Construction News — February – March 2019 — 5