Innerbelt Bridge Subcommittee Meeting 3 - Meeting Minutes

Transcription

1 CLEVELAND INNERBELT CONSTRUCTION CONTRACT GROUP 1 CUY , PID No Meeting Minutes Project: Central Viaduct Date: Subject: Innerbelt Bridge Subcommittee Time: 9:00am - 11:00am By: AMC/DJB/DAB Place: NOACA Attendees: (ODOT D12) Craig Hebebrand Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 Joseph Seif Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 Dave Lastovka Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 Lora Hummer Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 James Calanni Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 John Motl Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 Natalie Conley Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 Mike Malloy Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 Shelley Pitcher Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 Aaron Buchman Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 (ODOT C.O.) Scott Phinney Ohio Department of Transportation Central Office Jeff Crace Ohio Department of Transportation Central Office (City of Cleveland) Bob Brown City of Cleveland Planning Commission Scott Frantz City of Cleveland Planning Commission Debbie Berry City of Cleveland Planning Commission Jennifer Coleman Landmarks Commission, Design Review Committee (Cuyahoga County) Byron Sah Cuyahoga County Engineers Office Paul Alsenas Cuyahoga County Planning Commission (Other Organizations) Bill Beckenbach Quadrangle Colleen Gilson Tremont West Development Corp. Thomas Starinsky Historic Gateway and Warehouse District Howard Maier Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency Ron Eckner Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency Richard Enty Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority Tony Gutowski Flats Oxbow Hunter Morrison Cuyahoga Community College Joe Marinucci Downtown Cleveland Partnership Steve Litt Plain Dealer Ed Hauser Citizen 1

2 (Michael Baker Jr., Inc. - Design Team) Bob Parker Michael Baker Jr., Inc. John Dietrick Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Laura Toole Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Peter Taylor Buckland & Taylor Rick Engle E.L.Robinson Amilyn Cedergreen Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Daniel Baxter Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Doug Blank Michael Baker Jr., Inc. Skip Smallridge Crosby Schlessinger & Smallridge MEETING SUMMARY Overview What s Next Welcome/Introductions TRAC Funding Update Presentation/Discussion Review/discuss & Formalize Design Guidelines Structural Design Variations Review of Public Meeting Comments Closing Comments/Adjourn Welcome & Introductions (Bob Brown City of Cleveland) Review of June 1 st Meeting and June 28 th Urban Design Workshop (Craig Hebebrand ODOT D12) -Comments on the meeting minutes were sent to ODOT and logged -Timeline of meetings for structure type selection process (reminder) -Added August 17 th Subcommittee Meeting to Schedule Presentation (John Dietrick Baker, Skip Smallridge CSS) Overview of guidelines/principles discussed at the Urban Design Workshop Skip Smallridge (Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge) Presentation of Design/Bridge Elements John Dietrick (Michael Baker Jr., Inc.) Facilitated Discussion/Comments on Bridge Elements/Design principles. Tom Starinsky: liked how the Lorain-Carnegie bridge, is enhanced with towers, maybe things like, guardian towers, other details could be incorporated over the approaches for the new bridge as well. John Dietrick: we want to make sure the approaches are treated aesthetically. Bob Brown: Are piers usually concrete? John Dietrick: Yes, and aesthetic treatments of piers are possible (i.e. texture). Bob Brown: Is concrete painted or colored? John Dietrick: Usually with surface treatments, not usually colored. Bob Brown: On extradosed, does the above deck cabling allow spacing girders to be spaced further apart than traditional girder bridges? John Dietrick: Typically, two edge girders or one box girder. Bob: - Yes, fewer girders than traditional girder bridges. 2

3 Tom Starinsky: 1) Where is bridge on bottom left (skewed arch) 2) What kind of process was taken to come up with that unique artistic design? (Referencing slide # 14 of 33) John Dietrick: The bridge on the bottom left is in Brazil. The second bridge is in Columbus, Indiana. JMI was hired to come up with a few unique ideas. Tom Starinsky: So, no community participation process? John Dietrick: No, we were tasked with identifying alternatives for the client s specific project and idea. John Dietrick: Network bridge is Blennerhassett Island Bridge. Bob Brown: Was there community involvement? Tom Starinsky: Do you feel the process was successful? (For Blennerhassett) John Dietrick: Yes, design was what the community decided on. Tom Starinsky: Yes, public art tends to have compromises, don t want to put too many clamps on the process and stifle design. Bob Brown: It s a question of how much bridge design is motivated by aesthetics (community design opinions) or engineering. Tom Starinsky: There are so many opinions. How do we grasp them all? John Dietrick: There have been many ways community participation has been handled, from very extensive programs to project which have no public participation. Jeff Crace: Did the Blennerhassett Island start out as a suspension bridge? John Dietrick: Yes. Tom Starinsky: Was the bridge in Brazil designed for structural reasons? Daniel Baxter: No, it was designed to be aesthetically pleasing. -John Dietrick: Questions No? Report on Geotechnical Issues Bob Parker (Michael Baker Jr., Inc.) Ron Eckner: For those of us on the tour, we looked over existing bridge. Give us an idea what (excavation) it will look like near University Inn. Bob Parker: You ll see a fairly steep slope down followed by a gradual slope down to the river (3:1 slope and then a 12:1 slope). Skip Smallridge: Is hard to visualize. We will try and have a land form exercise. Designing a model would represent this area well. Ron Eckner: What about University Avenue? Bob Parker: We are still in the process of determining that. A few alternatives would be either closing University or it may be re-aligned. It has been determined that excavation is feasible. Debbie Berry: How does excavation impact University Inn (and towpath trail)? Bob Parker: The excavation is north of University Inn and north of the existing bridge. Options for the towpath trail will be considered. Paul Alsenas: This may be a big change, (the excavation) with perhaps unintended consequences. How far back do you have to excavate to hit stable part of slope and not do excavation? Bob Parker/John Dietrick: Close to Abbey. 3

4 Paul Alsenas: 3:1 Slope is very steep, big visual impact. The space where the bridge lands, will be a special place, unique to Tremont. This space is important. Constant bank on west side of valley, is important, might not want to change that. Tom Starinsky: A model would be very useful in this case. Design Guideline Workshop Skip Smallridge (Crosby Schlessinger Smallridge) Skip Smallridge: An above deck structure is preferred. Should this guideline be modified? Bob Brown: This could be modified to allow a below deck structure with aesthetic elements above the deck. Paul Alsenas: This is not just crossing the river. It also crosses the valley. Two thoughts: we need to keep the crossing of the peninsula as clear as possible. We would like an iconic structure; we must have an above deck structure. An above deck structure gives us the chance to create an image. Bob Brown: There is a desire for an above deck icon, as well as transparent below deck. Tom Starinsky: The community prefers above deck structures. It s fair to move on. Is the community in favor of an above deck structure? (Design Principle) Ron Eckner: Is the selection affected due to the changing span length? John Dietrick: No bridge types are off the table. Cable-stayed is generally used for long spans. Some options match our situation better or worse. The same bridge types will still be on the table. Craig Hebebrand: The majority of the crossing will be below deck supported. The budget will not allow for an above deck structure across the entire valley. The main span (the river crossing) will allow for an above deck structure. Hunter Morrison: It is good to keep design guidelines general initially. Also, the bridge needs to invoke the scale of the valley. It s a big 3-Dimensional space the treatment of the bridge should give sense of space. Peter Taylor: The scale of the vertical element is very important. Too often the scale is wrong. The public wants a view from downtown and from the vehicle. If the vertical element can be seen from downtown, it needs to be of significant scale to be seen. Bob Brown: We need to differentiate between now and the more detailed guidelines of later. Hunter Morrison: Would it make sense to call these design principles, and have design guidelines come later? Hunter Morrison: Also, we should make principles sound more poetic to engage with the public. Example: a bridge big enough for the valley. Skip Smallridge: If we agree on the basic principles, we can wordsmith them later. 4

5 Peter Taylor: Coherence is very important. We should think of a single bridge that is coherent and consistent, not signature & approach. Skip Smallridge: Bridge in Huntington West Virginia is not coherent. Two different firms designed the main span and approaches. In viewing the bridge one can see that there was little to no communication between the firms. Bob Brown: The bridge needs to have one vocabulary, not pieces and parts. Skip Smallridge: We ll work the principles/guidelines into a poetic sentence. Design Should Allow Light Under the Approaches Clean, Open Views (Design Principle) Paul Alsenas: We need to think about the future of the space under the bridge. Future land use considerations. Skip Smallridge: The space under the bridge speaks to pier design and pier placement. Bob Brown: The Bridge should accommodate beneficial reuse of land underneath. Hunter Morrison: That may be a separate consideration. Skip Smallridge: Edge of the bluff is an important feature. What are the critical values of the bluff that should be retained? New Bridge Should Reflect Consistent Design Themes of Existing Bridges in Valley (Design Principle) Bob Brown: Some elevated structures blight everything underneath them. Hunter Morrison: Reinforce how Cleveland is a dominate industrial area and should have an industrial structure designed. Question: Grading Tremont side would take out part of old central viaduct. Don t we want to preserve history? Skip Smallridge: We will try and create a cultural historic layering that is visible. New Bridge Should Reflect Architecture and Technology of our Time, not be Nostalgic. (Design Principle) Tom Starinsky: Could it be a separate principle to consider archeology below? The statement of incorporating design details seems like, it might involve nostalgia. Saying Details involves older bridges. Might be better to say inspired. Bob Brown: Should say inspired by. Hunter Morrison: Jacob s Field grew out of aesthetic history of Cleveland. Skip Smallridge: We ll wordsmith the third point. Hard to disagree with fourth point (make beautiful). Bob Brown: Might help to weed out box girder. 5

6 Paul Alsenas: We need to get the details right, but we need to have a conversation about what makes a bridge beautiful. Skip Smallridge: Would it be easy to make a list of details, but use other basic principles such as rhythm? Paul Alsenas: What does beautiful mean to this community? Skip Smallridge: Principles of form, rhythm or scale are important Paul Alsenas: Bring forward principles of what makes bridges beautiful. Skip Smallridge: Bridges that clearly express flow of forces. Paul Alsenas: Brooklyn Bridge incorporated aesthetic considerations, Read, The Great Bridge. Peter Taylor: Mailart s bridges over valleys in Switzerland. (Leonhardt) talks of proportions of valleys. A pleasing proportion of the bridge requires consideration of overall proportions. How it fits into the valley. Bob Brown: Important to capture larger aesthetic context. Discussion of additional Design principles Skip Smallridge: Principle design of new bridge should consider plan for rehabilitation of existing bridges. Question: A complementary design? Yes. Skip Smallridge: Treat underside, above deck views with care. Skip Smallridge: Architectural aesthetic lighting should be incorporated. Hunter Morrison: Think of underside of bridge also. Skip Smallridge: We ll incorporate the underside into this statement. Hunter Morrison: Predominate View and vista is from the flats. Most bridges here are lit from below. Tom Starinsky: Should the idea of public art be incorporated as well into this statement? Skip Smallridge: Might not want to be incorporated into the design principles. Although, it implies public commitment. Craig Hebebrand: May be places to install the art, but currently there is no funding available for public art. Laura Toole: Is it enough to say public art possibilities should be explored? Question: Yes? Bob Brown: Some of these guidelines go beyond concept selection. Skip Smallridge: New bridge should reflect consistent design themes. Maybe rephrase to say bridge should have a similar attention to detail, not overly imitative or nostalgic. Skip Smallridge: Consideration of the people environment is important. Bob Brown: We should elaborate to say bridge design should facilitate a beneficial use of land under the bridge. Skip Smallridge: New bridge should not be nostalgic. Skip Smallridge: Is there something that we ve missed? 6

7 Jennifer Coleman: Design and execution should be done in a sustainable way (low cost over time) Tom Starinsky: Are there sustainable principles for bridges? Bob Brown: Can we incorporate sustainability to our goals and guidelines? Skip: We can incorporate this. Skip: Discussion of goal statement. Subcommittee Agreed on Goal Statement Aspire to a design that further defines and enhances the identity of Cleveland, reflects technology of our time and respects Cleveland s history and culture in a fiscally responsible manner. Discussion Closing Comments / Adjourn 7