Rep. Sykes Delivers $9,116,279 To Improve Summit County High Level Bridge
AKRON, OH — Today, U.S. Representative Emilia Sykes (OH-13) presented two ceremonial checks to Summit County Engineer Alan Brubaker, PE, PS and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro totaling $9,116,279 to replace the Summit County High Level Bridge connecting Cuyahoga Falls and Akron.
“I am proud to deliver over $9.1 million to improve the High Level Bridge, a key infrastructure asset in Ohio’s 13th Congressional District. Thousands of residents rely on this bridge each day to get to work, school, and maintain the connection between Summit County’s largest cities — Akron and Cuyahoga Falls,” said Rep. Sykes.
Summit County will use this federal funding to design and construct a new, high level bridge between Cuyahoga Falls and Akron. 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.
“This funding for the planning and design of the High Level Bridge Replacement Project closes a critical funding gap for this infrastructure project in Summit County. The High Level Bridge connects communities and businesses in Summit County’s two biggest cities and it is essential that this connection remains. We are so grateful to Congresswoman Sykes and Senator Brown for championing this project through the legislative process. Local governments simply do not have the money for such large bridge projects and we would not have been able to begin the replacement process without the help from our federal partners,” said Summit County Engineer Alan Brubaker, PE, PS.
“Summit County is grateful for the steadfast commitment Representative Sykes has shown this community since taking office. The federal funding she secured for us will support critical projects that position Summit County and its 540,000 residents for a bright future. We look forward to continuing to work with Representative Sykes to bring even more investment to Ohio’s 13th District,” said Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro.
A breakdown of the total funding is included below:
- $4,116,279 in Community Project Funding that Rep. Sykes worked to secure in the 2024 federal spending bill; and
- $5 million from the Local Major Bridge Program.
Pictured from left: Rep. Sykes, Akron Mayor Shammas Malik, Cuyahoga Falls Mayor Don Walters, Summit County Engineer Alan Brubaker, and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro at the High Level Bridge in Akron.