Barrett Paving – New York Central
In the Summer of 2019, the City of Syracuse Creekwalk Phase II job follows the banks of the Onondaga Creek for 2.3 miles on the south side of Syracuse, New York. Paving’s New York Central crew began excavating on the Creekwalk in Spring of 2018. On paper it was simple – construct a 3’ tall concrete wall with a slope to make a 12’ wide multi-use bicycle and pedestrian path. The challenging part was doing so underneath a bridge, on the edge of the creek bed, and built on the existing ground that was only around 6’ wide. These obstacles pushed the Barrett team’s ingenuity, imagination, and resourcefulness.
As soon as excavating began, an unmarked cast iron pipeline was encountered that ran beneath the entire job site. It was an old Brine line left over from the once thriving salt industry in Syracuse – hence the nickname ‘Salt City’. Once the pipeline was removed, the crew excavated their way down and worked under the bridge to set the grade for the trail. The next obstacle was to form and pour a vertical wall on the steep bank of the creek – sloped with blocked stone. There was no way of walking on the stone, no flat surface on which to build, and no easy seam to gain some traction.
It was our Superintendent, Wesley Hood who recommended using signposts to build a safe and flat platform to work from. Keith Saunders and his crew ensured there were ample braces on the forms in preparation for the concrete which had to be pumped underneath the bridge.
Construction Foreman Colten Sullivan stated “The ability to develop unique solutions to a set of such challenging obstacles instills a great deal of pride in what the team accomplished. Without Dave Stanton and his crew being able to find a way to excavate all the dirt out and set our grade; without Keith Saunders and his concrete crew making sure everything was formed and secured for the mount of concrete going into that area; and without Wesley orchestrating the project, we would never have executed the task so smoothly and safely. This challenge was the most complex and unique one I’ve seen on any of our jobs. I’m proud of what our guys accomplished and the way in which they all worked together to conquer this project.”
