Wednesday, 01 August 2001
FSC Certified Wood Used to Rebuild Philly Bridge
Hank Cauley of the FSC and David Ford of the Certified Forest Products Council joined city officials and residents at the Strawberry Mansion Bridge in Philadelphia on June 29th to rededicate the historic landmark.
Cauley and Ford presented William M. Johnson, the Streets Commissioner for the City of Philadelphia, with a CFPC "Good Wood" award for the use of certified wood in the bridge rehabilitation project. In memory of the original dedication in 1897, the organizers of the event created a Victorian atmosphere by passing out skimmer hats and brightly colored parasols. The ceremony culminated with a ribbon cutting to officially reopen the bridge and a parade across, complete with cowboys on horseback.
In 1998, the City of Philadelphia decided to restore the bridge using certified Ipe and Curupau, each known for their long-lasting strength and durability. Sylvania Certified LLC of New Mexico worked with the city’s Department of Streets to procure the wood for the project. The logs were sourced from three companies responsibly managing their Bolivian forests: Compania Industrial Maderea Ltda, a 385,000 acre forest, CICOL/ABCOB, a 130,000 acre community forest, and Amazonic, a 64,000 acre privately owned forest. The raw materials were sent to Industrias Muebles Rodas for the initial manufacturing work. The unfinished decking was then sent to Deschenes and Cooper Architectural Millwork, where IA Construction prepared it for final installment in Philadelphia.
“The city of Philadelphia not only chose FSC certified wood, they chose to broaden their use of the FSC Chain-of-Custody system, by choosing two species from three separate forests. They utilized a broader basket of species for different parts of the project, which is a key component of responsible forest management."
-Paul Fuge, Sylvania Certified LLC