The 55-acre project sought to renovate the historical Ozark Mill initially built in the 1800s. Nabholz led construction for the 30,000-square-foot restoration that built a new foundation for the mill and seamlessly blended the historical building with new amenities, such as a speakeasy bar, a 150-occupancy event space, an urban garden showcasing sustainable farming practices, a chapel, and the relocated Riverside Bridge. 

Moving the Riverside Bridge was a unique challenge for this project. The bridge was disassembled and had been in a field next to the job site for several years. The Nabholz industrial team shipped the disassembled bridge to our Rogers metal fabrication shop to rebuild it and several components. However, the team quickly discovered that the bridge had lead-based paint. With the help of the Nabholz environmental crew, they were able to remove the toxic paint and start the rebuilding process.  

Two months later, it was time to ship the bridge components back to Ozark Mill and assemble it on-site. The assembly process required two cranes – one being a 250-ton crane from the Nabholz equipment fleet – to lift the bridge in sections and attach them together. Each of the two sections weighed 35,000 lbs.   

Now at home on the Ozark Mill campus, the Riverside Bridge was able to come to life in a new way and support the last operating watermill in Missouri.  

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