Late summer 2022 we began preliminary talks with a group of homeowners in Conneaut, Ohio to stabilize their shorelines, add sustainable access to the water, and keep their beach intact. It was a tall order, but we knew we could tackle the project, and deliver on the end result.
This spring when the first of the projects was ready to get underway, the erosion was already much worse than anticipated. The warmer winter months and lack of ice buildup on Lake Erie had hammered their shoreline and further destabilized the bank.
The site conditions proved to be more difficult than expected as well. The sand and caving bluff face could not provide a stable base for the excavator to sit on, and a temporary work pad had to be constructed to allow construction on the upper portion of the revetment, as well as drive the piles for the steel staircase. With this in place, the crews were able to drive (4) 40' beams, (2) 20' beams, and (2) 10' beams to serve as the foundation of the staircase. They then begin entrenching the toe stone and building the revetment, that was installed at a 2:1 slope. We used a few 100 tons of ODOT B Stone to "top dress" the revetment and blend it into the armor stones.
Once the stone was in place it was time to bring the sections of stairs that were made in our fabrication shop in Avon Lake, Ohio. Once lifted in place by the excavator, the on-site welding begun. This project wasn't quite finished throwing us curveballs yet though, the wave activity raises and drops the height of their beach by a few feet every day! So, we had to add an extension to the stairs that would be buried somedays and exposed others. After adding a few more stones along the staircase, project 1 was complete and we were ready to move on to project 2.
This shoreline will withstand the test of time and Mother Nature's fury!