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One of Eastern Highway Specialists core competencies is the repair of historic concrete structures.
On that note, located in the Wilmington area are the remains of Victorian Era Brandywine Springs Park. From 1886 until closing in 1923, the park was a major source of recreation for Wilmington area residents, often drawing 20,000 people per day.
In January we were tasked by New Castle County with repairing deteriorated buttresses in the dam in the lake area. At the time this dam was built in the 1800s construction did not utilize steel reinforcement. We also did hydrophobic grout crack sealing to stop numerous water leaks so as to preserve the dam for another hundred years.
This Spring and summer Eastern Highway Specialists is beginning two new multi-year projects in Maryland.
The first is a structural maintenance contract with Harford County to provide maintenance work for the county's roads.
The Second, is a contract with the Maryland Transit Administration to provide maintenance of freight rail bridges along the Eastern Shore and Frederick County,
Since the 1800s the iconic covered bridge has crossed the Brandywine River at Smith's Bridge Road. The bridge was damaged during the flooding that took place during Hurricane Ida in September of 2021. Water surged 20 feet above its current levels, carrying heavy debris down the River, some of which crashed into the bridge at high speeds, causing major damage. Eastern Highway was tasked with performing the repairs to this historic structure, focusing on repairing the damaged timbers and siding, while paying special attention to preserving the bridge's historic appearance.
One of the challenges of this job was the height of the bridge. The impacted spot was twenty feet above the water line, requiring us to build platforms onto the side of the bridge.
We are happy to be in a position to respond quickly when historic structures in our community like Smith Covered Bridge experience unforeseen damage.