CLEVELAND — The Cleveland Landmark Commission voted unanimously to designate the Lake Avenue Bridge, a more than 100-year-old structure that was featured on News 5 after frustrated residents called for repairs to the crumbling bridge, as a Cleveland landmark.
Over the summer, News 5 spoke to residents who were frustrated by what they call a lack of action by Norfolk Southern.
The busy railroad bridge spans a section of Lake Avenue between popular Edgewater Park and the growing Detroit Shoreway neighborhood.
The group Friends of Lake Avenue Bridge hung banners from the 109-year-old railroad bridge over the summer, alerting people to the danger of falling debris, and asked Norfolk Southern, which maintains the bridge, to "keep us safe."
Today @CLEcitylandmark Commission voted unanimously to designate the Lake Avenue Bridge as a City landmark! THANK YOU to residents and @jennyspencercle for your organizing to protect this 1915 structure and neighborhood gateway! https://t.co/tRJ4B7vN4q @CLEhistorical pic.twitter.com/2y7do4drL6
— Cudell & Edgewater (@cudelledgewater) November 11, 2021
Those who sought it to become a landmark designation are among the groups concerned about the bridge and the safety of passing pedestrians.
The bridge was nominated as a historical landmark on July 8, 2021.
The designation of the bridge as a historical landmark would ensure the design and architectural integrity of the bridge are kept going forward.
With the bridge being a landmark status, the Cleveland Planning Commission said it would generate positive recognition, which would hopefully move forward the process of repairing the bridge.
The landmark designation does not compel the owner of the bridge, Norfolk Southern, from doing any further action other than maintenance to do the bridge it would already be doing.
Watch the full landmark commission meeting here.
RELATED: Frustrated neighbors push for repairs to bridge in Detroit Shoreway neighborhood
Download the News 5 Cleveland app now for more stories from us, plus alerts on major news, the latest weather forecast, traffic information and much more. Download now on your Apple device here, and your Android device here.
You can also catch News 5 Cleveland on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, YouTube TV, DIRECTV NOW, Hulu Live and more. We're also on Amazon Alexa devices. Learn more about our streaming options here.
