The Old Rockside Road Bridge in Independence, Ohio, was built over the Cuyahoga River in 1960 to link the City of Independence with the Village of Valley View. An inspection in November 2021 found the bridge to be both functionally obsolete and structurally deficient and gave a status of “needs repair or corrective action.”

While the structure does not carry a high volume of traffic, it provides the only access to a seven-acre commercial area housing several businesses, including a supplier of cranes and heavy-lift equipment. When the project to replace the aging bridge was planned, providing a safe and robust temporary detour structure during construction was considered crucial to avoid serious economic impact on these businesses. In addition, the bridge carries a gas line, which needed to be factored into the solution.

A modular steel bridge from Acrow was selected for the project and ordered by contractor Kenmore Companies. Acrow’s two-lane bridge is 200 feet long (60.96m) and 24 feet wide (7.35m), with five-foot-wide brackets (1.5m) on one side to accommodate a gas line. The structure has an epoxy deck surface and is designed to a live load of HL-93, capable of supporting cranes and other heavy equipment. Despite the extremely limited build area of approximately 150 feet long (45.72m) and 40 feet wide (12.19m), Acrow’s modular bridge was erected without difficulty and successfully installed with a crane-assisted launch. The bridge was opened to traffic in mid-December 2022 and is anticipated to be on site for a year.

Available for rent or purchase, Acrow’s durable steel bridges are well suited to a diverse range of detour applications. Due to the extremely tight build area available, Acrow’s modular components were an excellent solution to minimizing the potential impacts of this project.