Pinery Dam removed from Cuyahoga River after standing 193 years – cleveland.com

BRECKSVILLE, OHIO-- Perched in the middle of the Cuyahoga River in his 80,000-pound excavator, Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, plucks pieces of the Pinery Dam from the river with surgical precision. The large timbers that made up the dam have been submerged under the swirling waters of the Cuyahoga River for 193 years, and he takes care to preserve as many as possible for purposes of historical documentation. He cant really see what hes picking up, as the water flows all around him impeding his view, so he must feel the river through the giant arm and bucket of the excavator.

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Piece by piece, he moves the black, sediment-saturated beams to the shore where they are measured and cataloged by Scott Heberling, who is in charge of documenting the Pinery Dam.

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, places a piece of the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, on the shore of Cuyahoga River for measurement.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Heberling, a historical archaeologist and historian with Heberling Associates, Inc., measures each beam and sketches on paper what the Pinery Dam looked like. As each piece comes ashore, his drawing takes shape.

Scott Heberling, a historical archaeologist and historian with Heberling Associates, Inc., measures beams from the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Wednesday marks the final day of dam removal from the river, a project that began just over a month earlier with the removal of the concrete Brecksville Dam. The Brecksville Dam was built in the 1950s, but served no purpose since the 1990s. It also posed hazards for recreational users and negatively impacted water quality and the wildlife habitat up stream. Another week or so of cleanup is needed to remove steel rebar and concrete along the shore.

You can read more about the Brecksville dam removal effort here.

Scott Heberling, a historical archaeologist and historian with Heberling Associates, Inc., shows what the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, looked like based on the beams recovered. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Phil Rhodes, who operates Rhode2Compliance, LLC., is working with Friends of the Crooked River to oversee the removal process.

He explained that the goal is to get rid of dam pools where stagnant, low-oxygen water has accumulated with a lot of sediment. The dams also restrict fish movement up and down the river.

Youre getting improved water quality and youre restoring the stream to where the fish can move without the impediment, Rhodes said. So its a win-win for the environment.

The Cuyahoga River was not meeting water quality standards above the dam.

Phil Rhodes, with Rhode2Compliance, LLC.,watches Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, remove the Pinery Dam from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Also working on the removal process, alongside Friends of the Crooked River, is the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cuyahoga Valley National Park and the Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization.

It takes years of planning to remove a dam like this.

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Kim Norley, a National Park Service landscape architect, said, Its an exciting project. Weve been trying to get the river flowing for years, and allow for a free-flowing river through the 82 corridor. Its a great day for the Cuyahoga.

She noted theres still a low-head dam in Peninsula, so its not yet completely free-flowing through the park.

To read more about what went into the Brecksville and Pinery Dam removals, and for more history on the dams, visit the National Park Service website.

Continue scrolling to see more photos of the Pinery Dam removal process.

The Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, is removed from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Detail of steel spike and beam from the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Scott Heberling, a historical archaeologist and historian with Heberling Associates, Inc., measures beams from the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Scott Heberling, a historical archaeologist and historian with Heberling Associates, Inc., measures beams from the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Detail of a beam from the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Scott Heberling, a historical archaeologist and historian with Heberling Associates, Inc., and Phil Rhodes, with Rhode2Compliance, LLC., study beams from the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, places a piece of the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, on the shore of Cuyahoga River for measurement.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

Andy Bennett, a machinery operator with Kokosing Construction, removes the Pinery Dam, constructed in 1827, from the Cuyahoga River.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com

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Pinery Dam removed from Cuyahoga River after standing 193 years - cleveland.com