Our mission at Ferguson Construction is to craft spaces that enrich lives, enhance workplaces and celebrate communities. Recently, we were part of a project in downtown Sidney, Ohio that epitomized the celebration of a community. Led by a community committee with support from Sidney Alive, the revitalization project is focused on strengthening the core of the downtown culture by fostering economic development, historic preservation, and community events that engage the public through the entrepreneurial spirit of the residents and businesses.
One initiative of the project involved adding large arches over the three state routes that frame the downtown square. The planning and design of the arches took several months of collaboration and coordination between Freytag and Associates, Ferguson Construction, Shelby County Commissioners, the City of Sidney, Sollmann Electric, ODOT, and Buckley Iron.
Key features of the arches and the project:
- Each arch features custom design elements, including house lighting and electrical components, without compromising the structural integrity of the arches. Coordination of the 38 light fixtures and 5 LED linear uplights per arch took several meetings and mockups.
- Each arch is made with 4” diameter, ¼” thick high-strength steel, weighing approximately 6,000 LBS.
- Each arch is approximately 72′-0″ long and delivered separately on a wide load trailer with front and rear escort service.
- They first traveled from West Virginia to Columbus to be painted, and from Columbus to Sidney to be installed.
- Each arch was sandblasted in Martin Painting‘s sandblasting bay and then received (1) coat of primer, (1) intermediate coat, and (1) finish coat. While in the paint shop, the Ferguson team made multiple trips to Columbus in the days prior to installation. This was done to field measure the arch to prep for an easier installation.
- Planning the arch installation dates and process took coordination meetings and site walks between the City of Sidney, Buckley Iron, Sollmann Electric, ODOT, Sidney Alive, and Ferguson Construction. Discussions on road closure locations, arch arrivals, installation times, coordination with local businesses, and safety precautions were all coordinated.
- Each concrete footing that the post sits on is 5′-0″ wide x 12′-0″ deep with embedded anchor bolts that are 4′-6″ long x 1 1/2″ wide. With the number of underground utilities that run under the streets in and around the courthouse square, each hole was hydro-excavated. This was done to reduce excavation size to dig that deep, prevent accidentally hitting an underground utility line, and keep the area much cleaner with fewer spoils.
- “Historic Downtown” signs are placed above each arch. The letters are being changed from black paint to silver reflective paint to illuminate the words more in the nighttime hours.
