Boyette Road over Fish Hawk Creek
Teamwork allows Quick and thorough response
The County and its consultants also investigate and mitigate corrosion from salt water that can occur on steel sheet piles ; as Al-Rawashdeh noted , “ salt water loves steel .” Potential sea-level rise is yet another consideration that factors that into any bridge replacement plans . “ We are planning for 50- to 100-year storm events , especially where we are very close to water ,” Al-Rawashdeh said .
While not every project is an emergency , the Ayres team is always ready to respond . “ Every inspector has their own inspection equipment gear bag with them so they can mobilize quickly with the necessary tools .” Maslyn said . “ For Fletcher Avenue I was dressed up for a meeting in shirt and tie attire . I took off my tie , threw on my safety vest , hard hat , and work boots , and off I went .”
It ’ s also challenging to come up with quick solutions to emergency problems . “ Usually when doing design work , time is your friend and you have a chance to think about it for a couple days and bounce ideas around to other people in the group ,” Johnson said . “ In these cases we don ’ t have that luxury – we have to communicate effectively and act decisively in what we want to do .”
It ’ s almost like being a mini design-build team , Maslyn said . The County and Ayres are often working with contractors hand in hand , exchanging ideas and resources to come up with a constructible design .
Being a one-stop shop helps with those time constraints . “ We are able to go out , do the inspection , evaluate what ’ s the source of the concern and how to repair it , and do it quickly ,” Johnson said . “ That ’ s not something a lot of firms can do . It allows you to flex your mental muscles as an engineer .”
Working together , Hillsborough County and the Ayres team keep the bridges safe
16 | TRENDS Ingenuity , Integrity , and Intelligence .