Valley View Bridge Explained

The Valley View Bridge is a trio of steel multi-stringer highway girder bridges that carry Interstate 480 over the Cuyahoga River valley in Valley View and Independence, Ohio. They are 215feet high and 4150feet long.^{[1] [5]}

History

The bridges opened in 1977 providing access to the nearby Willow Freeway (I-77).

In 1999, the Ohio Department of Transportation painted the bridge a red-primer color, replacing the original gray.

In 2010, the bridge received the honorary name "Union Workers Memorial Bridge".^[6]

In 2011, ODOT began a project to retrofit the bridge's parapets. The work includes installing new fences and moving the overhead lighting to the outside of the structures. The estimated cost of construction was $4.4 million.^{[7] [8]}

In 2016, ODOT announced that a third bridge would be built in between the two outer bridges, which then would undergo extended repairs.^[9] The third bridge, whose construction was from 2018 to 2020,^[3] was retained after the bridge replacement phase ended in 2022, creating a bypass of the interchanges on each end of the bridge, functioning as express lanes.^{[1] [10]} The ribbon cutting for the middle bridge occurred on June 12, 2023.^[11]

A pair of peregrine falcons nests under the bridge.^[12]

Accidents

The city of Valley View has jurisdiction over the bridge, and they have been assisted by the police and fire departments from Garfield Heights and Independence.

• On February 17, 1986, a driver was rescued when his semi-truck partially left the bridge.^[13]
• In February 1996, a car fell from the bridge, killing the driver.^{[14] [15]}
• In March 1997, police and the fire department responded to a dangling semi-truck. The driver was safely rescued.^{[7] [16]}
• On February 22, 2011, a semi-truck driver was killed when his cab fell off the bridge.^[4]
• On June 25, 2013, during a severe storm, a couple of highway signs fell down hitting two cars and injuring one person.^[17]
• On December 14, 2017, while attempting to elude police, a man drove down the steep embankment that separates the two spans of the bridge.^[18]
• In March 2024, A fire broke out at a landscaping company located on Canal Road. The fire was started in a mulch bed that quickly grew sending flames and smoke straight up to the bridge during the morning rush hour.

See also

• • • • List of crossings of the Cuyahoga River
• List of bridges in the United States by height

External links

• Web site: I-480 Valley View Bridge deck replacements. Ohio Department of Transportation. September 13, 2020.
• Web site: The Cloverleaf area. Roadfan.com.

Notes and References

1. News: John. Rudder. Upon completion, I-480 Valley View bridge will carry 12 lanes of traffic across Cuyahoga River Valley. WEWS-TV. January 6, 2020. January 7, 2020. At any given time, 180,000 vehicles use the I-480 Valley View bridges which sit high above the Cuyahoga River Valley at 215 feet. [...] [Amanda McFarland, spokesperson, Ohio Department of Transportation District 12:] This middle bridge is going remain and it’s going to carry two lanes in each direction. It will kind of serve as like an express lane and it will help motorists who don’t want to access the 77 interchange to bypass it..
2. Web site: Valley View Bridge Fact Sheet. 2020. Ohio Department of Transportation. March 7, 2022.
3. Staff. New I-480 Valley View Bridge Open to Eastbound Traffic. September 13, 2020. Ohio Department of Transportation. March 6, 2022.
4. News: Michael . Sangiacomo . Driver dies when truck cab falls 200 feet from I-480 bridge . . Advance Ohio . February 22, 2011 . November 7, 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160303175642/https://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/02/driver_killed_when_truck_cab_f.html . March 3, 2016 . live.
5. Web site: Interstate 480.
6. [Ohio Revised Code]
7. News: Karen . Farkas . Valley View I-480 bridge barrier replacement put off for two years . . August 25, 2009 . August 27, 2009 .
8. "Retrofit Parapets of I-480 Bridges in Valley View and Independence ". Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, 2006. Retrieved on August 27, 2009.
9. News: Valley View Bridge will be repaired two years earlier than planned. July 6, 2016. January 7, 2020. Ginger. Christ. The Plain Dealer.
10. . I-480 Valley View bridge deck replacement set to begin. Ohio Department of Transportation District 12. November 30, 2017. Upon completion of the westbound bridge deck in fall 2022, the new bridge will remain in operation and carry two lanes in each direction. The two westbound lanes on the new bridge will bypass the I-77 interchange for those motorists wanting to continue on I-480. In the eastbound direction, the two lanes on the new bridge will by-pass the Transportation Blvd. exit..
11. Ribbon Cut For New Valley View Bridge. Ohio Department of Transportation. June 12, 2023. June 29, 2023.
12. Web site: I-480 Bridge, Cleveland/Valley View . https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090104054224/http://www.dnr.state.oh.us/wildlife/dow/falcons/year.aspx?nest_id=10 . dead . January 4, 2009 . Ohio's Peregrine Falcons . . August 12, 2010 .
13. News: Safety Council Honors Seat-belt Survivors . . March 22, 1986 . February 28, 2011 .
14. News: Michele . Fuetsch . Vehicle Plunges Off I-480 Bridge . . February 28, 1996 . August 28, 2009 .
15. News: Tom . Breckenridge . Driver Cleared in I-480 Collision . . September 21, 1996 . August 28, 2009 .
16. News: Maggie . Martin . Trucker Saved from Perch on I-480 Bridge . . March 7, 2007 . August 28, 2009 .
17. News: Breckenridge . Tom . Fallen sign on I-480 bounced, barreled through traffic, witness says . 7 July 2024 . The Plain Dealer . 27 June 2013 . en.
18. Web site: Man survives driving off I-480 bridge embankment while trying to elude police. December 15, 2017. WJW-TV.