CLEVELAND — Repairs are underway along the Brookpark Road Bridge after the Ohio Department of Transportation closed the bridge because of floor beam deterioration.
ODOT closed the bridge on the evening of September 3 as a safety precaution after crews found the floor beams along the driving surface Crews determined the floor beams were deteriorated to the point that the bridge was no longer safe for traffic.
Brent Kovacs, a spokesperson for ODOT District 12, said the closure was necessary once the agency became aware of the problem.
"We did this for everyone's safety," he said. "As soon as we got this knowledge in our hands, we had to close this bridge for the safety of the motoring public. So, this is not something that we could have planned out differently or done something different. It is for the safety of the motoring public."
Crews will begin strengthening the floor beams this week. Kovacs said the work is expected to be finished by Thanksgiving — roughly 10 weeks away.
"Engineers are working to design the repairs," he said. "Engineers are working to figure out how to repair it, cause this is a high bridge."
While the bridge is closed, ODOT is rerouting the 13,000 daily bridge users to Clague Road, where they can connect to Interstate 480.
The Brookpark Road Bridge is nearly 100 years old. ODOT said a rehabilitation project is scheduled to begin in 2028. That's when crews will make additional repairs to the floor beams and completely replace the driving surface.
