Across the Scioto River from Dublin’s bustling Bridge Park district, lies the new West Plaza. Located in Historical Old Dublin, this square is the western entrance to the Dublin Link pedestrian bridge. Surrounded by restaurants and shops, this mixed-use plaza serves as an entertainment and community gathering space.

This project was completed in several phases between December 2018 and April 2021. The work preformed included pavers on the plaza and stair landings, installation of the granite planters, tree and perennial plantings, Ipe railing and limestone cornice installation. The completed project had to seamlessly blend the pavers from phases 1 and 2 of the north and south buildings.

Designed for safety and beauty, the granite planters and bollards were installed to prevent cars from accessing the pedestrian-only suspension bridge. The two larger planters are the same dimensions and the smaller two are unique in shape. The curves throughout are meant to be a continuation of the curve and flow of the bridge.

The planters are Georgia Gray Granite with the two larger featuring Ipe Brazilian Hardwood benches upon a stainless steel frame. They also feature granite curbing to surround the four Ivory Pillar Lilacs and assorted bulbs and grasses. 15 individual pieces of granite make up each of the large curved planters, weighing 39,290 pounds.

The custom cut granite was shipped from China. This is an image showing the order and diagram for one of the smaller planters.

Over 100 tons of structural soil and 30cubic yards of planting mix were added throughout the project. Granite steps were added to account for the elevation change. In all other areas of the plaza the pavers gradually sloped to meet ADA requirements.

9,630 sq ft of Bellcrest 530 pavers were installed by hand for this project. The different phases created 4 separate starting points for the pavers. This meant more planning and time had to be taken to seamlessly blend the whole plaza. The pattern was chosen to replicate the sidewalks in Historic Dublin.

(In progress) This image shows the convergence of different phases of the paver installation.

Over 200 linear ft of Ipe handrail was installed to seamlessly blend with the existing railing on the bridge.

Pavers were also installed on the landings of the staircase on the eastern side of the plaza

30 pieces of limestone cornice were installed at the top of the existing stone wall.

One of the more difficult portions of the project was installing the 23 limestone cornices around the stairs and the curve to the bridge. The steep angle of the cliff coupled with poor crane access created an interesting challenge

(In-progress) Another challenging aspect was getting the limestone pieces to sit correctly on their brackets. Visible here are the brackets that held each piece.

(in- progress) All 58 pieces required measuring and custom chiseling to correctly sit on the wall.

(In progress) Because of the weight of the pieces and limited accessibility, an 8.5 ton industrial crane was brought in to lift the limestone. The heaviest piece was 1,120lbs.

West Plaza beautifully connects the historic Dublin, Ohio with the modern Bridge Park development. This rewarding project has created a gorgeous space for local businesses and the community to come together.