LORAIN, Ohio — The Charles Berry Bridge in Lorain is back open Monday evening after being stuck in the upright position since Friday.
The bridge, which was built in the late 1930s, spans the Black River and runs along U.S. Route 6.
It's a main artery through Lorain and a primary access point to the city's downtown.
“[It’s a] main route. You can go all the way to Cleveland from here and all the way to Toledo if you want to," said Ken Sauvey.
Sauvey lives on Lorain's West side and works at New Level Properties directly East of the bridge.
“Friday I came over and I had to take the scenic route all the way around,” he said.
Friday, ODOT said a bridge operator found an issue with the drawbridge. The discovery prompted a closure while nearby Black River Landing was full of people attending a concert.
“Everybody on Broadway was packed, couldn’t even [move], bumper-to-bumper,” Sauvey said.
A contractor spent Monday inspecting and testing the bridge.
“There was a big clunking noise over here every time it would open so I was like, ‘There’s something going on,’” said Virginia Mullins, a neighbor who can see the bascule bridge from her apartment.
She said drivers had been using her one-way street as a detour all weekend.
“It says do not enter and they still drive through because they’re just like, ‘Ugh I can’t get out of here,’ you know?” she said.
Traffic was being rerouted to the Henderson Bridge, a few miles south of the Charles Berry Bridge. Sauvey said the detour added 15-20 minutes to his commute.
“You get used to it. But you leave early from home to make sure you get to work on time,” he said.
Other businesses said the three-day closure was affecting sales. The owner of Pure Gas declined an on-camera interview, but told News 5 that business was down 75% during the closure.
"Our business has been really slow because we are right at the brink of the bridge," owner Adnan Nazir said in a written statement. "It's been a challenge to to meet up with the expenses."
He and others said the bridge has been closed for repairs in previous years.
By the Monday evening commute, ODOT said it was reopened to traffic. The agency operates and maintains the bridge.
An ODOT spokesperson said a contractor determined a broken connection was to blame for preventing the bridge from fully locking in the down position on the eastbound side.
"Starting in September, ODOT will be managing a project to explore a long-term solution to what has been a problem with the span locks - which hold the two sides of the bridge into place in the down position - and make the necessary repairs," the ODOT spokesperson said.
