Full Issue (17 MB) - Pile Driving Contractors Association

Member Profile
WHOLESALE CARBON STEEL PIPE
Staging for one of the new spans of superstructure on Graves Avenue over I-4
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Associate Member of Pile Driving Contractors Association
Associate Member of Pipeline Contractors Association
Member of National Utility Contractors Association
Member of National Association of Steel Pipe Distributors
with the SPMTS, which gave them a
good insight into how the rest of the
project would play out. This initial stage
of work wasn’t too complicated - jacking
up and lifting off the two spans (one at
a time) and moving them to the staging
area, roughly a quarter of a mile away.
Once removal was completed and the
new substructure was underway, a temporary
foundation system, replicating the
new substructure, was constructed and the
two spans of new superstructure were built
at the staging site. There was no room for
error as engineering layout was double
and triple checked and construction tolerances
were practically eliminated.
Always up to the challenge
Most of what keeps the Leware
crews busy is obtaining work from FDOT
through the competitive bid process.
Additionally, Leware has been successful
in acquiring design-build, public-private
partnerships and negotiation work.
They are currently finishing up operations
on 12 bridge widenings along I-75
between Naples and Fort Myers, Florida.
This was part of a $430 million designbuild-finance
contract in which they were
a major subcontractor. The project is
expected to be completed ahead of schedule.
Leware is prequalified with FDOT
in the areas of Minor, Intermediate and
Major Bridges in addition to several other
categories of highway construction and
have established a solid relationship with
the State. FDOT officials respect the
opinions that Leware, with nearly 40
years of experience, brings to the table.
“We take pride in completing our
work on or ahead of schedule,” says Clark.
“It takes time to establish a good reputation
and we intend to maintain it.”
Clark attributes their success to
Leware’s strengths: they’re safety-minded,
have the right attitude, and take pride
in the work they do. With that strong
reputation, they have often been called
upon to complete emergency repair work
involving bridge damage as a result of
natural or human error.
An example of such work took place
in March 1996 when a semi-truck hauling
diesel fuel lost control, left the highway
and overturned adjacent to a fivespan,
330-foot long bridge on southbound
I-75 in Sarasota County, Florida. The
resultant spill ignited and caused severe
structural damage to the entire bridge.
The Leware team removed and rebuilt
the entire structure in just over 18 days,
which included four days of contamination
clean-up by a specialty firm.
“We like challenges and the current
economic situation is no exception,” says
Clark, who adds that like all industries,
they too have felt the sting of a very sluggish
economy. “We’ve dealt with setbacks
before - we’ll just find ways to tailor our
operations without sacrificing quality.”
One of those foundation-shaking setbacks
came when founder James F. Leware
Sr. passed away in 1986. Leware’s eldest
26 • Q4 • 2009