E. S. Wagner Company has begun work on construction of the I-75 and I-475 interchange, keeping the money for the $64 million project in the Toledo-area economy.

The local civil and highway construction firm based in Oregon was awarded the bid or the three-year project in June by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).

“It’s a good job for us and our people, keeping the jobs and money in this area,” said John Wagner, vice president of E. S. Wagner.

As prime contractor for the I-75/I-475 project, E. S. Wagner will perform 75 percent of the work with 80 to 100 employees on the job, Wagner said. The remainder of the work will be subcontracted to local companies which will complete the electrical, landscaping, paving and signage.

Lewis John Wagner (left) and his son John Wagner at the Aug. 2 groundbreaking for the I-75/I-475 project.

Another local company, Kuhlman Corporation of Maumee, will provide all the concrete for the project.

Wagner was selected as the low bid for this highway construction project. The second and third bidders on the job were companies from Cleveland and Fredricktown, respectively, Wagner said. Mosser Construction Inc. of Fremont bid as part of a joint venture with another company.

“It’s very expensive to operate a construction company like this,” said Wagner. “Fuel costs are the most significant for such large projects.”

He said it cost from $25,000 to $50,000 just to bid on the project after obtaining the plans about 40 days before the bid due date with ODOT.

Wagner owns more than 400 heavy-duty construction vehicles with 50 earth movers, most manufactured by Caterpillar, with cranes from Link-Belt, and trucks from Ford and Chevy.

“We believe in using American-made products,” Wagner said.

The I-75/I-475 project is one of several large highway constructions projects the company has undertaken in recent years, Wagner said. He reported the company had revenues of $115 million in 2009.

E.S. Wagner is also the prime contractor for the widening of Wheeling Street from Brown Road to Navarre Avenue in Oregon through ODOT. The two-year project that includes a bridge over I-280 is scheduled for completion in fall 2011.

An informational meeting for the Wheeling Street project will be held Aug. 17 at 8:30 a.m. in the St. Charles Hospital auditorium.

The firm is currently building new bridges on the Anthony Wayne Trail over Collingwood Avenue and Swan Creek leading into Downtown Toledo.

The company was the prime contractor for the north approach of I-280 from the Greenbelt Parkway to Manhattan Boulevard as well as the prime contractor for the construction of the Greenbelt Parkway from Cherry Street to I-280.

It served as the prime subcontractor to Fru-Con on portions of the construction of I-280 and the Skyway Bridge. The company was responsible for all roadway and drainage up to the elevated part of the bridge and subcontractor for some of the foundation and substructure work on the bridge, Wagner said.

E.S. Wagner was the prime contractor for four other highway construction projects on more than 35 miles of state Route 30 in Hancock, Wyandot, Crawford and Richland counties completed in 2008. Their most recent contract with ODOT was for $110 million, with others totaling another $100 million.

The company’s first involvement  with ODOT was for reconstruction of State Route 24 as part of the “Fort to Port Project” from the Indiana border to the Port of Toledo. That project involved rebuilding seven bridges, four over the Tiffin and Maumee Rivers, and a full interchange in Defiance.

Other projects included rebuilding State Route 24 in Defiance and Paulding counties with new interchanges at State Rt. 424 and U.S. Route 127 all completed by 2009.

It also handled additional construction of State Route 2 in Wabash County, Indiana completed in 2000 for the Indiana Deptartment of Transportation.

The company is the prime contractor for the construction of a 5 billion gallon reservoir near Lima, Ohio. It involves moving 5 million cubic yards of earth by November with 100 employees working in two shifts, Wagner said.

E.S. Wagner was a subcontractor to Lathrop Company on the excavation, underground work and construction of pilings for the left-centerfield wall at Fifth Third Field.

E. S. Wagner has about 250 employees in Toledo and another 100 in South Carolina with peak employment of about 450 total employees, according to Wagner.

Tags: E. S. Wagner Company, I-475, I-75

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 12th, 2010 at 2:36 pm and is filed under Community, Transportation.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.