Success Stories

Ford Motor Company, Ohio Turnpike, Abrams Creek, Interstate 271

Abrams Creek Improvement Project
Cleveland Hopkins Airport Runway Expansion

• Diversion and Enclosure of Abrams Creek
• 20,000 cu. yds. of flowable fill required as pipe bedding around (4) 10’ diameter pipes.
• Conventional fill would not have worked due to pipe placement and project design.

Officials at Hopkins wanted to be able to add additional flights to their schedule, but in order for the FAA to approve these flights, 10,000 feet had to be added to an existing runway and an additional 10,000 foot runway needed to be completed as well. The valley to the west of the airport where these runways could be built was composed of a 65 foot deep ravine at the bottom of which flows Abrams Creek, a tributary of the Rocky River. In addition to the creek itself being a sizable water source, it also catches a great deal of the storm water from the surrounding area. Since the creek could not be diverted, any construction over the creek area would have been impossible unless the creek was filled in some way while still allowing for the creek and storm water to follow.

The protection of the creek was of paramount concern to the city of Cleveland and the Ohio EPA. In order to create the additional runway space while still protecting the creek, the contractor, Independence Excavating, installed four 120 inch pipes side by side to take the flow of the creek water. The pipes were placed only 12 inches apart from each other and stretched 3,800 feet along the bottom of the ravine. Because the pipes were placed so close together, it would have been nearly impossible to compact normal trench backfill material to fill in the space between the pipes and provide a uniform bedding. Because of this, Independence Excavating turned to a different alternative in backfill and embankment material: flowable fill utilizing spent non-toxic foundry sand.

In order to find an alternative bedding material, Independence Excavating turned to Cuyahoga Concrete Inc. and Kurtz Bros., Inc. for flowable fill. The fill was poured between the pipes up to ¾ of the pipes’ height, for a total length of 3,800 feet. According to project manager Larry Hrovat, the flowable fill was selected not only because it could meet the requirements of the project, but also because it was more cost effective and better for the environment than some other bedding choices that could have been used. This also meant that the project could be more fully aligned with the city of Cleveland and the OEPA's environmental concerns regarding the project.

Overall, 20,000+ yards of flowable fill were used in completing the pipe installation portion of the project. The project was completed in Summer 2004. Meanwhile, Kurtz Bros., Inc. continues striving to increase the use of recycled non-toxic foundry sand as a “green” alternative in construction projects.