Center Street Swing Bridge Rehabilitation to Span One Year Starting Next March
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Library of Congress (1918)
Fans of Cleveland’s bridges spanning the Cuyahoga River will be pleased to know the City of Cleveland plans a significant rehabilitation of the historic Center Street Swing Bridge, slated to start in March 2021. Built in 1901 by the Cleveland-based King Bridge Company, the 345 foot-long Center Street Swing Bridge is the only working example of a bobtail swing bridge in Ohio. Located underneath the Veteran’s Memorial (Detroit-Superior) Bridge (also built by King Bridge in 1918), the bobtail design allows the bridge to pivot on a land-based pier, keeping the narrow river free from obstruction. Historic images and drawings of the bridge can be viewed at the Library of Congress website.
Last rehabilitated in 1996, the bridge will receive the following upgrades that are estimated to take one year to complete:
Painting of the entire structure, including the swing truss and east approach, to match the historic red color of the original bridge.
Replacement of the roadway stringers in the River Span to address deterioration of the existing stringers.
Relocation of the Operator’s House stairs to provide 5-foot wide sidewalk on each side of bridge.
Replacement of the concrete filled grid steel sidewalk with fiberglass open grid deck.
Replacement of the roadway grid steel deck (both open grid and concrete filled) on the swing truss spans.
Installation of sidewalk lighting on the swing truss.
Once the rehabilitation begins in March 2021, access to the West Bank of the Flats will be via W. 25th St., Main Ave. and Washington Ave. Assuming Cleveland Metroparks’ eLCee2 water taxi is able to restore service next May, pedestrians and bikes will be able to access the West Bank from the East Bank dock located next to Lindey’s Lake House at 1170 Old River Road, Cleveland.
One thing we’ll miss while the Center Street Swing Bridge is being renovated is the chance to catch moments like we did two years ago when a drunken Steelers fan decided to take a closer look at the bridge while the Dorothy Ann/Pathfinder came through. The Browns lost that day but the bridge kinda got even with the fan.