Bringing Rail Service Back on the Detroit-Superior Bridge //
Rediscover Veterans Memorial Bridge, Cleveland, OH
In my opinion, Cleveland’s infrastructure potential is huge! So much infrastructure that could help make the city more efficient, easier to navigate, and overall more pleasant is just going unused. Granted, for different reasons, but I believe this is a service that should go back online.
I’ve been stuck in traffic on this bridge enough times to absolutely be dumbfounded when I found out there was once a subway running just below the bottlenecked traffic that ran up till 1954. The Detroit-Superior subway ran service on the bridge from its opening in 1918 till 1954. The line served riders between Cleveland’s west side and downtown. Underground stations bookended the bridge; as the west end’s West 25th St. Station held four platforms and the east end’s West 9th Station held two.
Construction of the bridge itself began in 1914 and was taken up by the King Bridge Company at a cost of $5.4 million. Historically, it became the first fixed high level bridge in Cleveland, and just the third above the span of Cuyahoga. More impressively, at the time of completion the structure was the largest steel and concrete reinforced bridge in the world. Completed with 12 arches, one steel span, a length of 3,112 ft (949m), a height of 196 ft (60m), and a clearance below of 96 ft (29m).
Taking place Friday, 6/23 from 5p-8p and Saturday, 6/24 from 10a-8p; Rediscover Veterans Memorial Bridge is an free public event that’s providing an opportunity for the city of Cleveland to tour and share ideas for the future of the lower, historic streetcar level of the bridge.
More info about the events can be found here
Minor improvements have been made to increase the modes of transport on the bridge. In 2003, the outside traffic lanes were converted for pedestrian and bicycle use, with an additional unprotected bicycle lane being added in 2019. Ohio City, The Flats, and Downtown need to be connected again with a line that leads to local business and attractions, and NOT a station that is surrounded by industrial isolation, highways, and parking lots. Cleveland, Ohio was never built to be driven around in. It was meant to be seen riding the rails, so those who travel can, at the very least, appreciate the historic eclectic architecture.
