I-480 Valley View Bridges Will Be Under Construction Till 2024

GARFIELD HEIGHTS, OH — Starting in spring 2018, drivers on I-480 that pass over the Valley View bridges may face longer commute times. The 4,155 feet long bridges will be having their driving surfaces — also called bridge decks — replaced.

The decks are more than four decades old. The Ohio Department of Transportation said in a statement that the bridge decks "have reached the end of their useful lives." Walsh Construction Company has been selected for the design-build project. ODOT says the company will receive $227,774,080 for its work. All work should be finished by 2024.

The Valley View bridges are well-traveled. ODOT said that more than 180,000 vehicles, a day, will pass over the bridges during peak travel times.

To maintain traffic, the department said a new bridge will be built between the two existing bridges. There are currently four-lanes taking drivers in both directions. The work on the bridges won't be visible to most drivers, because it will take place below the existing bridges.

Major work will begin in spring 2018, ODOT says. The project will take years to complete.

Here's a tentative timeline for the project:

• In spring 2019, steel erection for the new bridge will begin. All four lanes, going both east and west, will be shifted right to accommodate construction equipment. Traffic will remain in this configuration until 2020.
• Spring 2021 — Traffic on the eastbound Valley View bridge will get shifted onto the new bridge. Crews will work to replace the bridge deck. Drivers will still be able to get off at Transportation Boulevard during this stretch of time.
• Spring 2022 — Next up, the westbound Valley View bridge. Traffic going west will be shifted onto the new bridge while crews replace the bridge deck. Westbound drivers will still be able to get onto I-77 north or south.
• Fall 2022 — Work on the westbound bridge will wrap-up. The new bridge will remain in operation and will carry traffic in two lanes in each direction. However, the two westbound lanes on the new bridge will bypass I-77. Going east on the new bridge, drivers will bypass the Transportation Blvd. exit.
• Summer 2024 — Bridge painting will continue through the summer. ODOT says the disruption to traffic will be small.

Minor work on the bridges started Dec. 4 and will continue for eight weeks. On Friday, crews will close one lane on I-480 east and west from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. Crews will be increasing the height of the existing fences on both bridges to improve safety.

Photo from Patch