Flagship product helps in the restoration of the 1882 Black Warrior River Bridge
Valley View, OH (July 14, 2009) – Imagine finding a bowstring bridge, over 120 years old, tucked away unused for many years, neglected and hidden in the woods surrounded around a pile of trees, rocks and grass. Ken Willis did just that. And the bridge he stumbled upon is now being preserved, moved from the brush in the woods and permanently settled at a location close to where it stood for many years, dating back to the 1800’s.
The 1882 Black Warrior River Bridge is the gem that was uncovered by Ken Willis in the woods in Northport, AL, just Northwest of Tuscaloosa. This is one of the oldest known bridges in the Deep South, according to Mr. Willis, who is with The Friends of Historic Northport.
Now try to imagine the restoration project of such an old bridge – dismantling and rebuilding – including the unscrewing of hundreds of rusty old nuts and bolts that have endured years of Mother Nature’s wrath, along with decades of rust and corrosion. It would seem impossible that those pieces would ever come off.
They did, however, with the help of The B’laster Company’s flagship product – PB B’laster. The bolts came off in a snap. All it took was a few sprays of PB B’laster directly on the bolt, and within minutes, the bolts started to loosen, allowing for construction workers to effortlessly unscrew and remove.
“At first, the steel workers and civil engineers told us that we’d have to eventually cut and re-fabricate all the nuts, bolts and threaded rods to get them off. At my local hardware store I was told to use PB, that it worked the best. I purchased a can and went to work. Once applied, I started to loosen them with a wrench, and low and behold they began to come off! I was astonished. We eventually used PB on all the nuts and bolts, and every one of them came off very easily, even after more than 120 years.” says Willis.
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“Our customers are constantly amazed and delighted by what PB B’laster can do,” says Bill Matthews, President of The B’laster Corporation. “When nothing else works, PB gets the job done. And not only does it work, it will save time and money -- ensuring that the end user does not have to burn off or drill out nuts and bolts or incur other expensive means of repairs.”
This came as most welcome news to The Friends of Historic Northport. “We were so thrilled to have found this product. Because of PB B’laster, we were able to save well over $30,000. This product negated the expense of having to cut bolts, nuts and rods that all the experts said would have to be done in order to disassemble the bridge. It saved us a great deal of money. PB B’laster got the job done, got it done quickly, and cost effectively. Most importantly, it did not destroy the integrity of the bridge,” added Willis.
“As you can see with the Northport Bridge project, PB B’laster helped the organization save thousands of dollars and many unnecessary man-hours. Once we found out that PB B’laster was being used to remove the parts, we were more than pleased to donate our product to this worthy Historic cause. Just knowing how favorably our product helped with this rehab reinforced our continued commitment to this wonderful product,” added Matthews.
World famous PB B’laster Penetrating Catalyst is more than just great. PB quickly brakes loose surface tension rust and corrosion by creeping up, around and in to hard-to-reach cavities. Formulated in 1959 as the “original nut & bolt buster” PB B’laster is now commonly used as a lubricant and rust inhibitor, extending the life of equipment while simplifying future maintenance and protects against further rust and corrosion.
The bridge was built in Cleveland, OH in the 1800’s by the King Iron Bridge & Manufacturing Company, and moved by rail to Alabama. It helped horse & buggy riders cross the Black Warrior River. It was moved once due to the growing transportation on the Black Warrior River, and did accommodate cars and trucks up until the 1970’s. It sat in the woods for decades, eventually being overtaken by large trees. Since the Fall of 2008, the bridge has been removed from the woods, lifted from it’s abutments, repaired, sand blasted and painted. The Northport Historic committee is currently working with the city to determine its final resting spot in a local park.
The B’laster Chemical Company is a leading manufacturer of a complete and emerging line of high performance penetrants, lubricants, rush inhibitors and specialized highly concentrated formulas used in home, industrial, automotive service and heavy-duty truck applications. The company is located at 8500 Sweet Valley Drive, Valley View, OH. For more information on the company, call (800) 858-6605 or visit www.blasterproducts.com
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