Spellacy Bridge entities come together for award
Holmes County commissioner Dave Hall takes his turn being interviewed in front of Spellacy Covered Bridge in Loudonville for the video being created as part of the collaboration on the bridge that led to the Don Conaway LPA Partnering Award.
When it comes to successfully planning and completing large projects, there are two things that must absolutely accompany any effort, that being creating quality and promoting teamwork and communication among the various entities involved.
When the Spellacy Covered Bridge near Loudonville was but a glint of an idea, Chris Young, Holmes County engineer, who served as the local project manager, understood both of those values.
Thus, when he began to discuss how to approach construction of the massive bridge that spans the Mohican River on Wally Road with partners Kokosing, which was in charge of the construction, and Ohio Department of Transportation, which was involved in the funding, the trio of entities made sure they had everything in place necessary to make it a successful venture.
Once the blueprints were in place and the details were finished, the three groups united as one, committing to the idea that teamwork makes the dream work, and the result was Spellacy Bridge, a new attraction to the Holmes and Mohican area that is already drawing plenty of people to view and photograph it.
The result of their combined effort led to them receiving the Don Conaway LPA Partnering Award, and on Feb. 7 a video crew came together with the three entities to film a video of exactly how Spellacy Covered Bridge came into existence.
The Conaway Award highlights projects throughout the state that promote the importance of mutual trust, shared goals and open communication on highway road and bridge projects.
For Young, the award is the culmination of the passion everyone poured into the project from start to finish.
“It all comes down to people and working with one another and putting together teams that work well with one another. We were all compatible, and we can celebrate that. I’ve been through some projects in my life where that wasn’t the case, and it’s rough. Those situations always end up being over budget and taking longer.”
Coming out of COVID, the project could have been a disaster, especially after watching the price of materials soar and having to rebid.
But unity trumped all, and the end product was something special enough to have a number of key figures gathered together at the bridge on a chilly but sunny morning to talk about the effort behind the story.
“I think everyone here was thrilled to be a part of it,” Young said. “It’s a great project that is great for the community that will last for many future generations.”
One person in attendance at the video shoot was Holmes County commissioner Dave Hall, who spoke about supporting the project.
“The award is like icing on the cake,” Hall said of Spellacy. “This bridge is functional, it’s generational and it is already garnering attention, not just locally and statewide, but nationally. It’s now part of the bigger plan of creating ecotourism in our area where we present an opportunity for people to get outside and experience our area, and watching the partners who came to the table for this project work hand in hand is heartwarming.”
Scott Mesick, senior area manager with Kokosing, said the honor of building this bridge is something he and his team will hold dear.
He said communication throughout the project was paramount, topped off by his crew finishing the bridge ahead of the scheduled finish date.
“That alone says a lot about the dedication, work ethic and everyone’s willingness to work together to create something this special,” Mesick said. “We all had the same goal in sight.”
He said Kokosing being founded 20 miles away in Fredericktown makes the creation of this bridge that much more memorable for the team.
Craig Schripsema, Orchard, Hiltz & McCliment Advisors project engineer, said the timing and collaborative effort of all involved was not an easy thing to create. With so many working parts and different groups involved during a time when simply finding the scarce material needed to build the bridge was difficult, it took a great deal of effort and compliance to make sure the project remained on time.
He also praised the carpentry skills of the Kokosing workers, who spent countless time meticulously crafting the bridge.
Cassie Bast, ODOT District 11 construction engineer, said ODOT’s involvement with the federal funding portion of the bridge was a big part of the process.
She said getting all of the financial guidelines in place helped give the project balance.
She said one of her jobs was to make sure all the different entities remained focused on the job at hand and continued to communicate throughout the project.
“We all worked together to create a beautiful project, and it’s a huge deal for this area,” Bast said. “The communication was a daily thing that helped us progress smoothly over a yearlong project, and it’s something we can all be proud of building.”
While they celebrated the honor, Young said each entity will now turn its attention to adding more quality to their respective communities, and there isn’t time to sit and soak in the aura of the award because there’s more to be built, as has always been the case.