Rep. Sykes Announces $5 Million To Design Summit County High Level Bridge Replacement
WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) today announced the Summit County Engineer’s Office has received $5 million from the Local Major Bridge Program to help design a replacement for the N. Main Street Bridge over the Cuyahoga River, also known as the High Level Bridge.
“The High Level Bridge is a key infrastructure asset in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District, connecting Cuyahoga Falls and Akron, the two largest cities in Summit County. Thousands of Summit County residents rely on this bridge each day to get to work, go to school, and hike and bike along the Summit Metro Parks’ High Bridge Trail,” said Rep. Sykes. “This $5 million will jumpstart the process of replacing this bridge with a safer and more reliable bridge design. I’ll continue advocating for the additional funding needed to keep the High Level Bridge safe and secure for residents in our district.”
“The Summit County Engineer’s office is thrilled to receive $5 million in Local Major Bridge Program funds to really start the design of the High Level Bridge Replacement Project. Our annual revenue is about $21 million and design and construction costs of replacing this bridge are estimated to be $70 million total. This project simply cannot be done without the help of grant funding from our partners in the state and federal governments. We greatly appreciate the support we have received from Congresswoman Sykes, Senator Brown, Congressman Joyce, former Senator Rob Portman, the Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro, Summit County Council, the city of Akron, the city of Cuyahoga Falls, the Ohio Department of Transportation, and many other local agencies and organizations who have written letters of support for our efforts to bring this project to fruition,” said Alan Brubaker, P.E., P.S., Summit County Engineer.
The Local Major Bridge Program provides Federal funds to counties and municipalities for bridge replacement, bridge rehabilitation, bridge demolition, and major bridge preventative maintenance projects. A Local Major Bridge is defined as a moveable bridge or a bridge having a deck area greater than 15,000 square feet. ODOT will provide up to 80% funding of eligible costs for all phases of the project.
In April 2023, Rep. Sykes submitted a request for $5 million to support the Summit County High Level Bridge Replacement Planning and Design as one of her 15 community project submissions for consideration in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Appropriations bill. Summit County would use this funding to facilitate construction of a new, high level bridge between Cuyahoga Falls, OH and Akron, OH. It will allow Summit County and the Ohio Department of Transportation to replace a fracture-critical, 80-year-old bridge already set to be decommissioned while maintaining critical connections between the two cities.