CLEVELAND — Two ongoing bridge repair projects in the Irishtown Bend neighborhood near The Flats have frustrated business owners in the area feeling the pinch.
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The $8 million repair and rehabilitation project on the Center Street swing bridge suffered a significant delay due to supply shortages and the delicate nature of rehabbing a century-old bridge. As News 5 first reported in December 2022, ODOT officials said the repairs have taken longer than expected, pushing the completion date back from Spring 2023 to late Summer 2023.
A half-mile away, the Columbus Road lift bridge, on the other hand, had to be closed to traffic last week in order to complete emergency electrical repairs. According to the mayor’s office, the city authorized the emergency purchase of three electrical drive components for the electrical control panel. The three pieces of equipment are being rushed from Houston to Chicago to be fabricated and later shipped to Cleveland. Each component weighs approximately 200 pounds. City officials anticipate the three replacement pieces to arrive at the job site next week and the bridge should be operating normally by next Friday.
For the time being, however, visitors to the area are forced to navigate an often confusing series of detours with multiple signs incorrectly directing drivers to the closed Columbus Road lift bridge. Currently, the Carter Road bridge is the direct route to go to and from the area.
“It affects absolutely everything down here,” said David Steele, the owner of Flat Iron Cafe. “All the foot traffic from the apartments and condos over there? That’s gone. All these concerts at Jacob’s pavilion? Gone.”
Steele said the ongoing construction at the nearby swing bridge has cut into his revenues by as much as 50 percent. Last week’s closure of the Columbus Road lift bridge added insult to injury.
"It’s confusing as is. You put ‘road closed’ signs up going to other road closed signs,” Steele said. “Why would you want to come down here? It’s insane to me.”
Steele said the lack of communication between the city and ODOT has also been frustrating.
An ODOT spokesperson said the Center Street swing bridge — the only remaining ‘bobtail’ swing bridge in Cleveland — presents a host of unique challenges, primarily due to its age. Built in 1901, the swing bridge spins onto the ‘open’ and ‘closed’ positions by turning on a large circular platform.
The ODOT spokesperson said the contractor is still working on replacing the concrete bridge deck, finishing steel repairs as well as a complete re-painting of the bridge trusses. Painting is expected to begin next week.
“Anytime you’re dealing with a historic bridge and on top of that a swing bridge, there’s additional complications that you can’t predict when making repairs,” said ODOT District 12 PIO Brent Kovacs in December 2022. “The intangibles, such as balancing an off-center bridge, working on a historical structure, things like that are of utmost importance that we have to pay attention to.”
The bridge’s balance point is off to one side, making construction a delicate and slow process. Crews have been forced to work at a pace that’s slower than a rehab project on a more traditional span.
“If we remove a piece of concrete from one side, we have to counterbalance it on the opposite side. If we bring a piece of equipment to one side, we have to counterbalance that piece of equipment,” Kovacs said. “It’s constantly a balancing act and it’s what we have to do to make sure that we preserve this bridge.”
Steele believes the delays should have been more properly communicated.
“I understand that to a point. But don’t tell us it’s going to take a year and now we are a year and a half into it,” Steele said. “Now you’re telling me it’s going to take until the end of summer. There is no clear message.”
A half-mile away, Urvashi O’Toole’s restaurant, Sainato’s Italian Family Eatery, has seen its typically robust lunch crowd come grinding to a halt. Dinner crowds have also been impacted, she said.
“Very slow, very, very, very, slow,” O’Toole said. “People don’t know where they are going. On this side, it says road closed. Over there it says closed — but that’s where the detour [takes you]. It’s all very confusing. Where do we go?”
O’Toole echoed many of the Steele’s concerns about the importance of the summer season, especially in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This summer, I was so excited,” O’Toole said. “Then this happened. I hope this is just a little hiccup and I hope it doesn’t happen again. If we have to wait another week, we’ll survive it, but that’s the longest I hope it is.”
