Innerbelt Bridge
{{short description|Former truss arch bridge in Cleveland, Ohio}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox bridge
| bridge_name = Innerbelt Bridge
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| image = Cuyahoga river at Cleveland.jpg
| image_size = 300px
| alt =
| caption = The Innerbelt Bridge carried traffic over The Flats and the Cuyahoga River (2005)
| official_name =
| other_name =
| carries = {{jct|state=OH|I|90|name1=Innerbelt Freeway}}
| crosses = Cuyahoga River
{{jct|state=OH|US|422|OH|8|OH|14|OH|43|OH|87}} (Ontario Street/Broadway Avenue)
| locale = Cleveland, Ohio
| owner = Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT)
| maint = ODOT
| id =
| website =
| architect =
| designer =
| engineering = Howard, Needles, Tammen and Bergendoff
| design = Cantilever truss arch
| material = Steel, concrete
| length = {{convert|4233|ft|m}}
| width = {{convert|116.25|ft|m|2}}
| height =
| mainspan =
| spans = 7
| pierswater =
| load =
| clearance =
| below =
| life =
| builder =
| fabricator =
| begin = December 12, 1954
| complete =
| cost = $26,066,000
| open = August 15, 1959
| inaugurated =
| toll =
| traffic =
| preceded =
| followed =
| heritage =
| closed = November 22, 2013
| replaces = Central Viaduct
| coordinates = {{coord|41.4861|-81.69|region:US-OH_type:landmark|display=inline}}
| references = "[http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=IF1 Innerbelt Freeway]". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.{{cite book |title=Bridges of Metropolitan Cleveland |first=Sara Ruth |last=Watson |author2=John R. Wolfs |year=1981 |chapter=Chapter 2: The Four Great Viaducts |chapter-url=http://www.clevelandmemory.org/ebooks/bmc/bmcchap2.html#p36 |pages=36–39 |access-date=2009-07-18 |archive-date=2010-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613104918/http://clevelandmemory.org/ebooks/bmc/bmcchap2.html#p36 |url-status=dead }} Transcription at The Cleveland Memory Project website.
| extra =
}}
File:Innerbelt Bridge in Cleveland, Ohio.jpg
The Innerbelt Bridge was a truss arch bridge in Cleveland, Ohio carrying Interstate 90/Innerbelt Freeway over the Cuyahoga River.
History
The bridge, completed in 1959, was {{convert|4233|ft|m}} in length and {{convert|116.25|ft|m|2}} in width, built as the widest bridge in Ohio. The Innerbelt Bridge replaced the Central Viaduct."[http://ech.case.edu/ech-cgi/article.pl?id=CV Central Viaduct]". Encyclopedia of Cleveland History.
The bridge had been intended to carry Interstate 71,{{cite web|title=1957-58 Biennial Report|author=Ohio Department of Highways|url=http://www.roadfan.com/clevmap.html|access-date=2013-12-06}} but due to the lack of completion of a highway, carried Interstate 90 instead.
On November 13, 2008, all commercial truck traffic was banned from the bridge because it was deemed structurally deficient after a review of a computer analysis.{{cite news |first=Karen |last=Farkas |title=3-D imaging set off lane closures, Inner Belt Bridge rehab |url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2009/08/3d_imaging_set_off_lane_closur.html |work=The Plain Dealer |date=2009-08-27 |access-date=2009-08-29 }} This had been rectified by mid-2010.{{cite news |first=Karen |last=Farkas |title=ODOT succeeds in detouring eastbound trucks around Inner Belt Bridge |url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2010/07/odot_successful_in_detouring_e.html |work=The Plain Dealer |date=2010-07-29 |access-date=2010-07-30 }}
=Replacement=
As part of the Innerbelt Freeway rebuild, the bridge was replaced by the George V. Voinovich Bridges.[http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/Innerbelt/InnerbeltBridge/NewsInformation/Pages/ProjectOverview.aspx Cleveland's Innerbelt Bridge: Project Overview] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110194029/http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/ClevelandUrbanCoreProjects/Innerbelt/InnerbeltBridge/NewsInformation/Pages/ProjectOverview.aspx |date=2013-11-10 }}. Innerbelt Plan. Ohio Department of Transportation. The Innerbelt Bridge was vacated in November 2013 after the completion of the westbound Voinovich bridge, built immediately to the north. Dismantling of the Innerbelt Bridge began January 13, 2014, and five of the nine remaining spans were imploded at dawn on July 12 with the remainder of the structure removed in the following weeks.{{cite news |first=Alison |last=Grant |title=Old Inner Belt Bridge Steel Skeleton to Be Blown Up in Controlled Demolition |url=http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/01/old_inner_belt_bridge_steel_sk.html |work=The Plain Dealer |date=2014-01-13 |access-date=2014-01-15 }}{{cite press release |last= |date=2014-07-12 |title=1959 Innerbelt Bridge Went Out With a Bang |url=http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D12/Deputy%20Director/News/Pages/1959-Innerbelt-Bridge-Went-Out-With-a-Bang.aspx |publisher=Ohio Department of Transportation District 12 |access-date=2014-08-13}}{{cite news |first=Alison |last=Grant |title=55-year-old Inner Belt Bridge vanishes in a half second |url=http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2014/07/55-year-old_inner_belt_bridge.html |work=The Plain Dealer |date=2014-07-12 |access-date=2014-07-12 }} The eastbound Voinovich bridge, built in the former location of the Innerbelt Bridge, opened in September 2016.
{{Wide image|Innerbelt bridge.jpg|800px|The Innerbelt Bridge, as seen from downtown Cleveland in 2010|box width|alignment|alt=alt text}}
See also
- {{Portal-inline|Transport}}
- {{Portal-inline|Engineering}}
- {{Portal-inline|Ohio}}
- List of crossings of the Cuyahoga River
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20090601235114/http://www.cleveland.com/innerbelt/ Inner Belt Bridge] - The Plain Dealer special section
- {{GNIS|type=retired|1073028}}
- {{YouTube|Zr6Jb0MQafI|"I-90 Innerbelt Bridge - Controlled Demolition, Inc."}}
Category:1959 establishments in Ohio
Category:2013 disestablishments in Ohio
Category:Bridges completed in 1959
Category:Buildings and structures demolished by controlled implosion
Category:Buildings and structures demolished in 2014
Category:Bridges over the Cuyahoga River
Category:Bridges on the Interstate Highway System
Category:Truss arch bridges in the United States
Category:Concrete bridges in the United States