December ushered in more traditional winter weather with strong winds, grey skies, colder temperatures and snow dominating the Ralph Wilson Park landscape. These at times trying conditions did not deter the experienced and dedicated crews from continuing to make progress. As you can see in the photo above and this video taken from December 30th, strong winds and open water can make for unfavorable working conditions along the shoreline.
However, the impact the newly constructed armored stone shoreline has on wave action is also clearly evident in the video. The porous stone greatly reduces the wave energy as compared to the existing concrete sea wall. The last 12 seconds of the video highlights how protected the inlet is from wind driven wave energy. In the inlet you can see the water moving at a significantly reduced velocity. This protected inlet will promote habitat for fish and micro invertebrates.
Integral to the shoreline restoration and used throughout the park, in the pictures above you can see crews from Mark Cerrone Inc. laying out reinforced marine geotextile fabric. When placed, this fabric stabilizes the existing soils, while preventing erosion and soil migration. The 40’ wide by 150’ long rolls of fabric have steel bars spanning the width to keep the fabric from becoming buoyant until the armor stone is placed on top.
Let There Be Light
In December, electricians from Ferguson Electric have been assembling the light fixtures and poles for the sports field lighting as well as lighting for paths and pathways.
Pictured above is a 20’ tall exposed aggregate concrete pole. The exposed aggregate finish compliments the extensive amount of stone being placed along the shoreline as the poles blend in with the landscape.
The concrete poles will be outfitted with highly efficient LED fixtures. The fixtures will orient light downward to illuminate paths and pathways while greatly reducing the chance for night sky light pollution.
Pictured above to the left is one of the much taller light poles that will illuminate the athletic fields. These 60’ and 70’ galvanized steel poles will be inserted onto the concrete foundation (pictured above right) in early January.
The end of year represents a time to reflect on the milestones of the year previous and there were many at Ralph Wilson Park in 2024.
An interesting milestone of note comes from one of our local suppliers County Line Stone Company in Akron. This past December they surpassed sending out over 70,000 TONS of stone to the job, which is a really large number to comprehend. To aid in appreciating how much weight 70,000 tons (or 140 million pounds) represents, let’s break it down into a scale we are all familiar with. My F150 weighs about 2.5 tons, so the weight of a mere 28,000 F150’s equates to the amount of stone delivered to the site. 28,000 F150s lined up end to end would stretch from Ralph Wilson Park to Erie, PA!
We have enjoyed a safe, productive and fruitful year here on site at Ralph Wilson Park and look forward to more successes in 2025. A lot of times this update focuses on the big machines and big pieces of infrastructure, but at the end of the day none of it is possible without the countless contributions of time, effort and expertise from individuals both on site and beyond. To the myriad of funders, design professionals, municipal partners, contractors and community members, we at Ralph Wilson Park wish you and yours a happy, healthy and prosperous 2025!
As always thank you for tuning in and we look forward to keeping you updated as renovation activity continues in your community park!
