Spirtas Wrecking Company proved to St. Louis, MO, why its name is synonymous with urban renewal when it completed the demolition of three bridges over Interstate 70 in roughly a third of the time budgeted.
Interstate 70 has been the subject of a national study to determine what improvements need to be made to this busy highway, and just where to start. A determination was made to embark on a six-year effort to restore the I-70 corridor as part of a $130-million project.
Construction began in August 1998, and is scheduled to be completed by 2003. The project entails replacing 26 bridges along the I-70 corridor in St. Louis, city and county. The 40-year-old structures are among the oldest along America’s interstate system.
When the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) determined that the bridges spanning I-70 near downtown St. Louis were outdated and unable to withstand the current traffic loads, they contracted Millstone Bangert to replace three deteriorated bridges with newly constructed bridges to meet current weight limitations.
But before any new bridges could go up, the old ones had to come down. Spirtas Wrecking Company subcontracted the demo work on this project. Owner Eric Spirtas said, “We met with MoDOT to plan the demo. There was a lot of coordination and communication involved.”
Wrecking Runs in the Family
Founded in 1954 by Joe Spirtas, Spirtas Wrecking Company began as a local dismantling and hauling company. “My grandfather was a scrap peddler,” said Spirtas. “He had one truck and one employee. It was that basic.”
When Joe passed away, his son, Arnold, was only 21. He landed a contract handling all scrap operations for the Plaza Demolition Project – the first large land clearance in St. Louis – and set the two-man company on a new path. Spirtas Wrecking continues to specialize in the demolition of large boilers, power plants and brick manufacturing facilities. A fully registered and nationally licensed company, Spirtas has razed thousands of buildings across the country.
Now owned by its third generation of Spirtas men, the company performs a variety of work: environmental, structural, selective interior and implosion demolition, and recycling.
Two things have remained important throughout the company’s history: safety and customer satisfaction. Eric Spirtas ensured that both goals were met on the I-70 bridge demo job.
Teamwork
MoDOT and Spirtas anticipated three weekends of work on each of three bridges spanning I-70. But Eric Spirtas decided to speed things up. “We increased the amount of equipment and manpower on the job, and we stepped up the technology,” he said. By doing so, traffic disruption and risk were minimized. The interstate was closed while work ensued, thus increasing the safety aspect for the crews.
“It enhanced the ability of the construction to accelerate,” said Spirtas. “Construction was way ahead of schedule. How do you think that happened?”
An added benefit of the accelerated work schedule was that it provided better equipment management for Spirtas. “I pulled (equipment) from all my jobs," Spirtas stated. “It didn’t make sense to haul it back and forth just for the weekends, and I wouldn’t have survived if the equipment sat idle all week.”
He added that the cost of paying overtime for the marathon 36-hour work session was roughly equal to the potential expense of unused equipment for two weeks.
Spirtas credited Project Manager Jeff Lacavich with orchestrating a successful job. “Jeff organized a great schedule,” he enthused. “He made quick work of what could have taken a lot longer. Because of his forethinking, he had extra equipment available as an extra resource, in case of damage. If you have to wait on repairs, it can ruin your schedule.”
Spirtas noted that although they had until Monday morning, work was completed by Sunday morning. “The surface was going to be re-used within hours. We had dropped hundreds of thousands of pounds down without damage. We covered and cleaned the roadways and had them back in shape for traffic long before Monday’s rush hour.”
Adelaide Bridge
“We started July 7th. They closed the highway Friday night and we began work about 7 p.m. We were done by 8 a.m. Sunday morning. In 36 to 40 hours we had everything down and cleaned up,” Lacavich elaborated.
Twelve men manned each 12-hour shift. Lacavich shared the credit with his two superintendents: Larry Thornton, nights and Buddy Watkins, days. “Those guys did a great job.” He added, “Larry does all my bridges.”
With dedicated manpower aligned, demolition of the Adelaide Bridge 10 miles (16.1 km) east of the airport in St. Louis began on schedule. “We wrecked the whole bridge,” said Lacavich. “We wrecked the whole concrete structure – took all the columns down.”
In total, Spirtas completely took down two bridges, took half of two other bridges down, and took the deck off a railroad bridge. Lacavich noted that the bridges were 300 ft. (91 m) long by 80 ft. (24.4 m) wide.
Work was complicated by the fact that as old, deteriorated bridges were coming down, newly constructed bridges were going up. “They were putting up new bridges as we were tearing down the old ones,” Spirtas explained. “We took down the first half of the bridge, and had to wreck away from the existing bridge. They started building the new bridge as we were cutting away half of the old one.”
Debris was piled in the median below, where it was later cleaned up and most of it recycled. “We recycle on site,” Lacavich said. “Only 10 percent goes to a landfill – things like trash. We recycle wood, iron and metal, and take it to another site that needs fill.”
Heavy-hitting Equipment
One of the key elements of the project involved the equipment brought in to speed the work being done. A laundry list includes a 60-ton (54 t) crane with a 14,000-lb. (6,350 kg) ball, three track hoes, a long-reach track excavator, several processors, three small track hoes and 15 scrap trailers.
“The long-reach tracked excavator had an 84-foot boom. It’s a specialized piece of equipment for highly detailed demo work. We use it whenever it’s available. It can reach 45 feet up and 39 feet over. It was amazing – it could reach toward the new bridge. We used it to move stuff away from the area. It wasn’t planned; we didn’t expect to use it. But we had it, we tried it, and it was fantastic,” Spirtas elaborated.
Three types of processors were on site which included concrete crackers, concrete smashers and concrete pulverizers. “The concrete cracker at the end of the long-arm cuts rebar and cracks concrete at the same time,” Spirtas said. “[Concrete pulverizers] pulverize material. They get the metal out for salvage, then we crush the concrete and use it for fill, road beds, rip-rap, things like that.”
Spirtas went on to explain that great care was taken when working with 100,000-lb. (45,359 kg) machines. “They could go right through the asphalt,” he said.. "You have to be careful not to damage the road.”
Satisfaction Guaranteed
Completing the job well ahead of schedule greatly benefited the entire project, and MoDOT and Millstone Bangert were pleased with the boost.
Construction continues on several other St. Louis bridges as part of the project, as well as reconstruction of I-70 from Bermuda to Hanley, including the Florissant Road interchange, which will commence in 2001. The project will completely rebuild and realign the highway through this area. The bridges at Bermuda and Hanley will also be replaced.
Bridge replacements at Jennings Station Road and at Lucas-Hunt and Goodfellow will also begin in 2001. The project includes replacing the bridges, applying a new surface to the express lanes and installing new highway lighting and signage.
Spirtas recalled that the most exciting part about the project in his eyes was, “such intense demolition – to bring in all that equipment at once and actively demolish so much...”
With a lot of growth in the St. Louis area and a booming economy, extensive renovation and reconstruction work is going on in the city.
“The city is working hard to make the highways and downtown better,” Lacavich said.
Spirtas’ job performance and customer satisfaction on the I-70 project should guarantee that they’ll be part of any future schemes to improve their Midwestern riverfront hometown.
Lori Lovely
Lori Lovely is an award-winning journalist, editor and author of the children's book Isadora's Dance. She has worked for newspapers, magazines and niche publications, covering a wide-ranging list of topics that includes motor sports, construction, MSW, energy, environmental issues, water, animal rights and issues, history, Native American issues and people, real estate and home decor, farming and more. Her degrees in History taught this dedicated professional to research thoroughly and ask detailed questions in order to winnow interesting facts that convey the essence of the story. As a seasoned writer and compassionate storyteller, she accurately portrays the subject in a manner that entrances the reader.
When she's not working on assignment, Lori is tending to her historic Indiana farm, where she raises alpacas. An inveterate animal lover, this vegetarian enjoys spending time with her animals and working in her garden.
Read more from Lori Lovely here.
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