Bridge gives downtown Akron link to Cuyahoga Valley National Park
6/14/2008
It was Friday the 13th, but that didn't stop the daylong installation of a bridge that connects downtown Akron to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Cleveland.
The new 270-ton bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists on the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail stretches 275 feet over the Akron Innerbelt.
The bridge's three prefabricated steel sections were individually lifted into place atop concrete piers on Friday by two mega-size cranes.
The 250-ton cranes were affixed to the bridge sections by thick steel cables.
The biggest bridge section - weighing 190 tons and 182 feet long - was lifted about 25 feet above the highway before being slowly lowered into place by crane operators.
It was Travis Capper, the project manager for the city of Akron, who raised the specter of Friday the 13th. ''It worked against them a little bit, but they fought through it,'' he said of the bridge installers.
Kenmore Construction Co. and the city had hoped to have the largest bridge section in place by 9 a.m. It didn't happen until about 3 p.m.
It took three tries to get the 40-foot smaller bridge section in place on the western side of the span. That 45-ton section was installed just before noon.
The last section, also 40 feet and 45 tons, was dropped into place late Friday afternoon.
Twice the first 40-foot bridge section was lifted onto concrete piers, only to be removed because it had not been properly lowered into place.
''It never goes as quickly as you plan,'' Capper said. ''You just take it slow and safe and get it done right.''
The Akron bridge - 14 feet wide and up to 16 feet high and the same rusted brown color as other bridges on the Towpath Trail - is to open in August.
The main bridge section was built in place on the Innerbelt (state Route 59) since last Monday. The two smaller sections were constructed at the Kenmore Construction yard and transported to the site just west of Akron's Cascade Plaza.
Extending the trail by 2,000 feet from Beech Street to Ash and Quaker streets in downtown Akron cost $2.75 million.
The bridge installation drew a small crowd of dedicated but hot and thirsty fans.
''It's exciting and it is a very big bridge,'' said Phil January, who is active in the Cascade Locks Park Association. ''It is a big and important link on the Towpath Trail.''
People have been talking about making a connection from downtown Akron to the Cuyahoga Valley and Cleveland via the Towpath Trail for 20 years, said Bridget Garvin, executive director of the Cascade Locks Park Association. The new bridge helps bring the Cuyahoga Valley into downtown Akron, she said.
The bridge is a welcome addition, said Akron photographer Andrew McCallister, 37. He said he personally would have preferred a more modern or innovative style, but he understands that the bridge is similar to other Towpath Trail bridges.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.