History
In 1971, construction of the Outerbelt South Freeway (I-480) began on both sides of the Cuyahoga River valley, in Valley View and Independence. To join the sections, two parallel bridge decks (one for westbound traffic and the other for eastbound traffic) were constructed. Each section consists of 93-foot (28 m) long beams connected by steel bolts, and the bridge supports are in concrete. The support pillars were completed within two years, and the decking within four years. 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".
In 2011, ODOT will begin 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 is $4.4 million.
A pair of Peregrine Falcons nests under the bridge.
Read more about this topic: Valley View Bridge
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“The history of philosophy is to a great extent that of a certain clash of human temperaments.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“The myth of independence from the mother is abandoned in mid- life as women learn new routes around the mother—both the mother without and the mother within. A mid-life daughter may reengage with a mother or put new controls on care and set limits to love. But whatever she does, her child’s history is never finished.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)
“You that would judge me do not judge alone
This book or that, come to this hallowed place
Where my friends’ portraits hang and look thereon;
Ireland’s history in their lineaments trace;
Think where man’s glory most begins and ends
And say my glory was I had such friends.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)