While schools closed, and businesses sent folks home early, the lights were still on at the Scioto Mile. The team was working on all sorts of projects – utilities, duct work, electrical wiring and conduit . . . indoors. Although the Scioto Mile development celebrates the great outdoors, there are plenty of indoor projects that have been moving steadily forward – inside the restaurant or beneath the band shell, or even underground.

Like everyone else in Columbus, the Scioto Mile team has spent hours shoveling snow (bulldozers are really nice to have this time of year). To be honest, weather conditions can slow down progress, but a savvy planning crew knows how to bring a year-round project in on time.

You’ve heard of floating a check, or floating an idea; smart schedulers use floating days. A float day provides some buffer time in a project. That extra time, plus longer sunlight hours in the spring and a few consolidated processes will keep this venture on schedule.

In fact, the Mile can even afford a few more snow days. Like it or not, March has always come with an average of 4.4 inches of snowfall in Columbus.

Not on the Scioto Mile work site. There are no radios, and no headphones – at least, not the recreational kinds. The ban is a safety provision.

The rule makes sense.  If you’ve ever NOT heard a police siren because of the car stereo, you know exactly what we’re talking about. It’s hard to hear equipment signals while getting a groove on.  While computer jocks don’t generally need to be aware of approaching equipment, bulldozers and forklifts buzz all over the Scioto Mile.

There’s still this nagging question: what about those crew members who wear headphones for ear-protection?  Hmmmmm . . .

Of course, Messer Construction has a rule for that. Project Executive (and resident brainiac) Jeff Ruschau explains, “The ability to hear the surrounding noises and safety equipment such as ‘back-up’ horns is necessary on a construction site . . . and hearing protection is required in those areas where there is excessive noise exposure even if on a temporary basis.” Or, he directed us to provision 00 80 01 of the safety program.

In other words, a little good judgment and finesse are required when it comes to harmonizing safety standards.

Good judgment and finesse are required when making musical harmony too.  We started collecting nominations for the Scioto Mile Soundtrack – tunes that can roll with the river. Our crew had a few ideas (check out the video); now we need yours! 

Rap, rock, Broadway? What songs come to mind on the Scioto Mile?

But, this city is home to brains and brawn.

So, the designs for the Scioto Mile project also include facilities for some hard-core cerebral calisthenics. Twelve chess tables (with 24 seats) are being constructed for installation along the Scioto Mile Promenade. Not just any old chess-tables: regulation chess tables. They conform to the standards suggested by both national and local chess organizations.

Whether it's chess-time or lunch-time, the Promenade will be a hot spot on the Scioto Mile

Actually, the tables go beyond any minimum regulation standards: they’re really cool.  These tables are built for all weather conditions, with an imprinted texture to distinguish spaces on a chessboard. There’s also extra space on the side to hold the player pieces.

Not feeling that brainy? Learning chess can actually improve your intelligence. There are several studies that document measurable improvements in memory, problem-solving skills, and quantitative analysis . . . and that’s in both young and old.

Still not interested? Those regulation chess tables are the perfect size for lunch tables too.

Moral lessons aside, the notion of living in a glass house actually sounds pretty darn cool. You could see out the windows in every direction, the walls would be all sparkly and clear.

While living within transparent walls would require quite a lifestyle change, dining in a glass restaurant sounds like doable fun. Especially if that restaurant was surrounded by a scenic riverfront . . .

Bicentennial Park diners will have quite a view

With fountains
And a park
And a performance stage
And a metropolitan skyline

That sure does sound like the restaurant on the Scioto Mile. It’s about eighty percent glass. Not glass block, pure transparent glass. Diners will be able to enjoy their meals and take in all the beauty of the fountain and the riverside. It’s like year-round al fresco dining, without the bugs or rain.

The glass walls also make the spot beautiful from the outside.  Viewed from every angle, from the street or from the riverbank, the restaurant will have an elegant sparkle.  It’s all the joys of living in a glass house . . . without ever having to wash a window.

Nope, it’s not the Boy Scouts (not yet anyway).

It’s the pipe team – the crew that connects the massive network of pipes to supply the fountain. Like all members of the construction team, the pipe-people will work in any weather condition. It’s the pipe adhesives that are persnickety. For optimal sealing conditions, the pipes and the glue have to be warm. Hence, the whole zone is under wraps – with heaters and tents to hold the heat in.

Connecting the pipes is actually a two-part job: after the adhesive has set, the seals are then tested.

This tenting is to keep the fountain pipes warm – not the workers

Keep in mind that Scioto Mile builders have been using state-of-the-art equipment. Onlookers might see remote-operated compacters or fancy post-tensioning cable. In keeping with the high-tech theme, there’s probably a super-duper special leak detector for these pipes. Perhaps the crew uses black lights . . . or magnetic detection devices or sonar waves?

Nope: they flood the pipes with water. All that water under pressure will show any breech in the system – with a drip or a teeny puddle. While the high-tech construction tools are nice, sometimes the old way is really the best way.

Under those rocks, the Prow has a network of cables that provide support

Okay, not real rocket scientists, but brainiac Civil Engineers. Chatting with those engineers is as mentally challenging as it gets. They have excited conversations about topics like PSI and post-tensioning cables.

Although those techy terms are intimidating, the concepts actually have some humble, everyday connections. The notion of post-tensioning cables dates back to a discovery by a French florist in the 1800’s. He was just trying to make a stronger flowerpot.

Our engineers aren’t real interested in flowerpot technology; they are interested in building strong walls on the Scioto Mile’s prow. So the team uses thick post-tensioning cables to help bolster the concrete sides of the forming landmass.

And while those cables have an impressive “PSI” (that’s a measurement of pressure in pounds per square inch), the next time we have a brainy chat, we’re armed with some impressive PSI data of our own.

Did you know that Pop Rocks candies explode with the force of 600 PSI?

Good thing they use regular rocks to fill the prow.

Whatever you call them, these fish will make quite a statement on the Scioto Mile Promenade

The fountains on the Scioto Mile Promenade will feature giant flipping bronze fish; oversized metal versions of the River Redhorse with sinuous curves and spouting mouths.

And what’s a bronze fish without a little natural habitat?  Strewn across the custom pond (that’s the fountain) are aquatic foliage, also cast in bronze.  A good botanist might recognize the American Lotus and the Marsh Marigold. 

Seated near to the Ohio Judicial Center, there’s a particular natural harmony that the fountain creates with its aquatic life. The River Redhorse joins the architectural icons on the building in a celebration of the great natural wonders of our State.

By the way, this fountain has more than authenticity and aesthetic features: it’s a touchable work of art. Guests are encouraged to experience the fountain with all their senses.

While our local fishermen might lament the fact that “these fish don’t bite,” our fingers are glad those bronze beauties have jaws agape.

This luminescent art will make a dramatic scene

This is the time of year when people start to get a little anxious about light. Even though the days are actually getting longer, the nights seem bleaker -darker in the cold of January and February.

One of the nicest things about the fountains on the Scioto Mile is that they bring a little light to our world, all year round. Not just light –the artistic structure features glimmering halos, perched at 14 to 20 feet above the ground.

The blossoms of stainless steel ringlets will be illuminated January through December. In the warmer months the halos will spout fog and waterworks too. It’s a form of art that shifts with the seasons.

The luminescent halos aren’t the only things that add some bling to the project. They’re perched above a most unusual foundation of Lithocrete. Think of Lithocrete as a distant cousin to concrete – it’s more of an artist’s medium.  The substance uses finely crushed aggregate from all sorts of sources (quartz, marble, seashells) to produce almost any stony texture you can imagine. And because it uses crushed natural materials, Lithocrete has an unusual ability to reflect small amounts of light.

Just one more bright spot in the Scioto Mile.

Snow won't stop this Scioto Mile worker

Regardless of the cold, snow and sleet, the construction crew will be working outdoors on the Scioto Mile. The team doesn’t take snow days; it’s an all-weather workforce that honestly isn’t hindered by ambient conditions. Mother Nature simply doesn’t faze them. As long as there’s long underwear, gloves and warm boots, the project moves along.

All sorts of Scioto Mile projects are progressing along in the cold weather months of 2010. The big compacters are out and running and the underground utility work moves forward. These days, you might see the concrete or masonry teams on-the-job too.

This plastic tent is more for the building's protection, than to keep workers warm

And while there are plastic tents and space heaters over the landscape, it’s not actually for the crew (they like their own fleece); it’s for the raw material.  Mortar needs to be a certain temperature to set properly.

Quite honestly, it’d take a hurricane to hold them back. Literally. The only thing that stops a construction crew is dangerously high winds or a flooding rain. And although the Scioto River is a pretty powerful body of water, chances are pretty slim it’ll spawn a storm of epic tsunamic proportions.

It’s true! Designers of the renovated balustrade were puzzling through how to make the newly cut limestone columns match their eighty-year-old counterparts.  While the shape and size of the new columns was spot-on, age had stained the original stone with a rich patina.  The youthful additions were considerably paler.

Given the fact that yogurt has been widely used to encourage mossy growth on rock, it seemed reasonable to test its effect on the surfaces of the fresh limestone forms.

In fact, a little grocery-store yogurt and a little time did give the columns a less-youthful appearance.  Although this dairy experiment was a success, the design team ultimately favored a more controlled approach: blending the effect of two conventional construction stains to create a textured, natural looking patina.

An original, renovated portion of the balustrade.

A brand new addition to the balustrade - aged to perfection.

The results were so good, even the pros are hard-pressed to tell the difference. Can you?