The replacement of a multi-lane interstate highway bridge over the Cuyahoga River valley in Cleveland is the largest project approved for funding by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
A replacement for the span known as the Inner Belt Bridge will begin taking shape in 2010, although foundation work and the creation of pre-fabricated parts will reportedly begin this year. The current bridge is one of the most heavily traveled in Cleveland and is unlikely to be demolished before the new structure is completed in 2012.
The project has been approved in part because of $200 million made available by the federal economic stimulus bill signed in February.
The Cleveland bridge is the largest single project listed by ODOT, which received more than $900 million in federal stimulus funds for highway, bridge, and rail and water transportation projects, according to the Plain Dealer of Cleveland.
According to that news report, ODOT has identified 149 projects that will receive an estimated $774 million in federal funding.
The next largest project in Ohio is for a U.S. Route 33 highway bypass around Nelsonville in southeastern Ohio, which will receive $150 million in funding. The other projects named by ODOT will each receive less than $25 million in federal funding.