Valley View Bridge

The Valley View Bridge is a trio of steel multi-stringer highway girder bridges that carry Interstate 480 over the Cuyahoga River valley in Valley View and Independence, Ohio. They are 215 feet (66 m) high and 4,150 feet (1,260 m) long.[1][5]

Valley View Bridge
Valley View Bridge as viewed from the east, 2012
Coordinates41.408552°N 81.633843°W / 41.408552; -81.633843 (Valley View Bridge)
Carries I-480
CrossesCuyahoga River
Ohio and Erie Canal
Csx Rail Line
Canal Road
W. Canal Road
Ohio/Erie Towpath Trail
LocaleValley View and Independence,
Cuyahoga County, Ohio
Maintained byOhio Department of Transportation, District 12
ID number1812521
1812548
Characteristics
Designsteel multi-stringer highway girder bridges
Total length4,150 feet (1,260 m)
Height215 feet (66 m)[1]
Longest span300 feet (91 m)
History
Construction start1972 (outer spans), 2018 (middle span)
Construction end1975 (outer spans),[2] 2020 (middle span)[3]
Opened1977 (outer spans),[4] 2020 (middle span)[3]
Statistics
Daily traffic180000
Location

History

In 1971, construction of the Outerbelt South Freeway (I-480) began on both sides of the Cuyahoga River valley, in Valley View and Independence. To join the sections, two parallel bridge decks (one for westbound traffic and the other for eastbound traffic) were constructed. Each section consists of 93-foot (28 m) long beams connected by steel bolts, and the bridge supports are in concrete. The support pillars were completed within two years, and the decking within four years. The bridges opened in 1977 providing access to the nearby Willow Freeway (I-77).

In 1999, the Ohio Department of Transportation painted the bridge a red-primer color, replacing the original gray.

In 2010, the bridge received the honorary name "Union Workers Memorial Bridge".[6]

In 2011, ODOT began a project to retrofit the bridge's parapets. The work includes installing new fences and moving the overhead lighting to the outside of the structures. The estimated cost of construction was $4.4 million.[7][8]

In 2016, ODOT announced that a third bridge would be built in between the two outer bridges, which then would undergo extended repairs.[9] The third bridge, whose construction was from 2018 to 2020,[3] was retained after the bridge replacement phase ended in 2022, creating a bypass of the interchanges on each end of the bridge, functioning as express lanes; the project as a whole is expected to run until 2024.[1][10] The ribbon cutting for the middle bridge occurred on June 12, 2023.[11]

A pair of peregrine falcons nests under the bridge.[12]

Accidents

The city of Valley View has jurisdiction over the bridge, and they have been assisted by the police and fire departments from Garfield Heights and Independence.

  • On February 17, 1986, a driver was rescued when his semi-truck partially left the bridge.[13]
  • In February 1996, a car fell from the bridge, killing the driver.[14][15]
  • In March 1997, police and the fire department responded to a dangling semi-truck. The driver was safely rescued.[7][16]
  • On February 22, 2011, a semi-truck driver was killed when his cab fell off the bridge.[4]
  • On June 25, 2013, during a severe storm, a couple of highway signs fell down hitting two cars and injuring one person.
  • On December 14, 2017, while attempting to elude police, a man drove down the steep embankment that separates the two spans of the bridge.[17]

See also

References
  1. Rudder, John (2020-01-06). "Upon completion, I-480 Valley View bridge will carry 12 lanes of traffic across Cuyahoga River Valley". WEWS-TV. Retrieved 2020-01-07. At any given time, 180,000 vehicles use the I-480 Valley View bridges which sit high above the Cuyahoga River Valley at 215 feet. [...] [Amanda McFarland, spokesperson, Ohio Department of Transportation District 12:] This middle bridge is going remain and it's going to carry two lanes in each direction. It will kind of serve as like an express lane and it will help motorists who don't want to access the 77 interchange to bypass it.
  2. "Valley View Bridge Fact Sheet" (PDF). Ohio Department of Transportation. 2020. Retrieved 2022-03-07.
  3. Staff (2020-09-13). "New I-480 Valley View Bridge Open to Eastbound Traffic" (Press release). Ohio Department of Transportation. Retrieved 2022-03-06.
  4. Sangiacomo, Michael (2011-02-22). "Driver dies when truck cab falls 200 feet from I-480 bridge". The Plain Dealer. Advance Ohio. Archived from the original on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-11-07.
  5. "Interstate 480".
  6. Ohio Revised Code 5533.93
  7. Farkas, Karen (2009-08-25). "Valley View I-480 bridge barrier replacement put off for two years". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  8. "Retrofit Parapets of I-480 Bridges in Valley View and Independence Archived 2009-01-08 at the Wayback Machine". Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, 2006. Retrieved on 2009-08-27.
  9. Christ, Ginger (2016-07-06). "Valley View Bridge will be repaired two years earlier than planned". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2020-01-07.
  10. "I-480 Valley View bridge deck replacement set to begin" (Press release). Ohio Department of Transportation District 12. 2017-11-30. Upon completion of the westbound bridge deck in fall 2022, the new bridge will remain in operation and carry two lanes in each direction. The two westbound lanes on the new bridge will bypass the I-77 interchange for those motorists wanting to continue on I-480. In the eastbound direction, the two lanes on the new bridge will by-pass the Transportation Blvd. exit.
  11. "Ribbon Cut For New Valley View Bridge" (Press release). Ohio Department of Transportation. 2023-06-12. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  12. "I-480 Bridge, Cleveland/Valley View". Ohio's Peregrine Falcons. Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original on January 4, 2009. Retrieved August 12, 2010.
  13. "Safety Council Honors Seat-belt Survivors". The Plain Dealer. 1986-03-22. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  14. Fuetsch, Michele (1996-02-28). "Vehicle Plunges Off I-480 Bridge". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  15. Breckenridge, Tom (1996-09-21). "Driver Cleared in I-480 Collision". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  16. Martin, Maggie (2007-03-07). "Trucker Saved from Perch on I-480 Bridge". The Plain Dealer. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  17. "Man survives driving off I-480 bridge embankment while trying to elude police". WJW-TV. 2017-12-15.
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