Valley View Bridge

The Valley View Bridge is a pair of steel multi-stringer highway girder bridges that carry Interstate 480 over the Cuyahoga River valley in Valley View and Independence, Ohio. They are 212ft high and 4150ft long.HistoryIn 1971, construction of the Outerbelt South Freeway began on both sides of the Cuyahoga River valley, in Valley View and Independence. To join the sections, two parallel bridge decks were constructed. Each section consists of 93ft 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 .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.In 2016, ODOT announced that a third bridge will be built in between the two outer bridges, which will then undergo extended repairs. The work is expected to be completed by 2023.A pair of peregrine falcons nests under the bridge.