The selected design is a Single Cable Stay bridge that would consist of a single tower, on the Tremont side of the Cuyahoga river, with support cables stretching from the tower to the edges of the bridge deck. Several months and hundreds of public comments led to the final recommendation. ODOT spokeswoman Laura Hummer says this Single Cable Stay Bridge design provides the signature structure that city leaders and residents had pushed for.
Laura Hummer: They wanted to see a signature structure with the structure actually visible on top of the bridge. So people driving out and into the City of Cleveland would see this bridge. That it would serve an iconic purpose. That it would be something that people would easily recognize as belonging to downtown Cleveland.
In the coming months, ODOT will review the recommendation and make a final decision in December. The westbound bridge is scheduled for construction in the fall of 2009. Lisa Ann Pinkerton, 90.3.