New Towpath Trail bridge opens in downtown Akron
The big new Towpath Trail bridge is open.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held August 22 dedicating the $1.4 million bridge that carries the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail over the Innerbelt into downtown Akron.
About 300 people attended the festivities.
The 275-foot-long bridge for pedestrians and bicyclists links downtown Akron to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park and Cleveland 33.5 miles away via the popular Towpath Trail.
Weighing about 270 tons, it has three sections - the largest is 182 feet long. It is 14 feet wide and up to 16 feet high.
The bridge, which was installed by Akron's Kenmore Construction Co., is the centerpiece of a 2,000-foot trail extension that runs south along the Innerbelt (state Route 59) from Beech Street, where the trail had ended at the southern end of Akron's Cascade Locks Park, to Ash and Quaker streets behind the Cascade Plaza.
Construction of that section of the trail, including the bridge, cost $2.8 million.
From Cascade Plaza, the trail runs to Lock 2 Park behind the baseball stadium, crosses the canal and continues to the south.
When complete, the Towpath Trail will stretch 101 miles from Cleveland through Akron to New Philadelphia.
Bob Downing can be reached at 330-996-3745 or bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.