Contractors and the Franklin County Engineer’s Office are working to open the new Lane Avenue bridge five months ahead of schedule.

The new bridge was originally expected to open by spring of 2004. The project, contracted to the C.J. Mahan Construction Co. of Grove City, is being pushed to finish by November of this year.

“The project is on schedule, and we’re looking to accelerate it to open by mid-November,” said Mark Sherman, chief deputy county engineer.

The old bridge was closed Nov. 25, cutting off traffic on Lane Avenue from Neil Avenue to Olentangy River Road. The former structure was a three-lane, earth-filled concrete bridge, but plans for the replacement include a six-lane cable stayed concrete bridge.

The major difference in the new plan is in the production of various large concrete pieces of the bridge.

“A lot of the bridge was supposed to be pre-cast, but now we’re going to cast a lot of it in place,” said C.J. Mahan contractor Mark Hutchins. “These changes in the design will make completion earlier.”

Many pieces of the bridge were supposed to be fabricated elsewhere and then shipped to the Lane Avenue construction site. Casting the large pieces in place puts the builders in control of the items and the schedule. It is a change in process rather than design.

“This better suits our schedule and allows us to pour (concrete) in much larger pieces, which saves time,” Hutchins said.

The improvements in the construction process will save Franklin County and C.J. Mahan about $500,000.

“The cost savings incurred by the design change is shared,” Sherman said.

“The contractor will use their part of the savings to speed up their schedule,” Sherman said. “For each day past the scheduled completion date they run late, they will lose part of the cost savings. If they don’t finish early, the county will keep the money.”

Although the project has been an inconvenience for many motorists, Ohio State officials haven’t noticed any major problems from the construction.

“The biggest problem has been the increased traffic on Woody Hayes Drive,” said Sarah Blouch, spokeswoman for Transportation and Parking at OSU.

“Our role in the project isn’t that big. We deal with the detours and handle other traffic coordinating, and there haven’t been any big problems.”

Pedestrians can still cross the river at Lane Avenue by way of a temporary foot-bridge. About 130 parking spaces at St. John Arena have also been lost because of the project, but those spots will return when the new bridge is finished.

Buckeye football fans need not worry about parking next football season.

“Some of the parking for tailgaters was lost this past season, but there won’t be any new problems for next season’s football games,” Blouch said referring to the parking spaces on Lane Avenue.

Motorists who depend on the bridge for their daily commute should be pleased with the progress made on the construction.

“Everything is going well. We’re going as quick as we can,” Sherman said. “The daily cost to the motorist is worth expediting this project.”

Hutchins is pleased with the progress made so far and is optimistic about the project.

“We’re doing better than expected,” Hutchins said. “The old bridge is gone and we have the south tower up. There’s a really good shot at getting the bridge opened early.”