Cherry Valley bridge closure could last until 2025
NEWARK − The city of Newark announced Wednesday the indefinite closure of Cherry Valley Road at the deteriorating Showman Arch Bridge, three years before the planned opening of an alternate route and new bridge.
The bridge has been deteriorating for years, but recent inspections prompted the Federal Highway Administration and Ohio Department of Transportation to recommend the city close the road immediately for public safety.
The recommended Cherry Valley Road detour is Ohio 16 to Ohio 79 to West Main Street. Traveling from Cherry Valley Hotel, at 2299 Cherry Valley Road, to Mid-Ohio Behavioral Health, at 2112 Cherry Valley Road, a distance of one-half mile, will become a 7.3-mile trip using the detour.
Newark City Engineer Brian Morehead said Cherry Valley Road could be closed at the Showman Arch Bridge until 2025, when construction on a new road and new bridge should be completed.
“We’re looking to see if any repairs are possible, something short-term,” Morehead said. “We’ll continue to look at any options, but that’s going to take time to do that.”
Morehead said inspections of the bridge have become more frequent, from annually to about every three months. Identifying changes on a bridge of that age are not easy, he said.
“There’s not really a good way to analyze those stones," Morehead said. "It’s more engineering judgement. We’ve not seen major movement, but there's been small pieces fall out of the bottom.
“The Federal Highway Administration was in town a week ago and looked at it. Their concerns went to the top of the ODOT engineering section. Both recommended closure. These guys see a lot more of these types of bridges. We’re complying with the request.”
The closure caught Granville Exempted Village Schools off-guard Wednesday as district buses traveled over the bridge during the morning commute to school, District Superintendent Jeff Brown said. The district worked quickly Wednesday afternoon to determine new routes for the five buses that traverse the bridge to and from the Park Trails neighborhood on River Road.
"We are going through the process of putting new routes into our software so that we can make adjustments and get them out to that area and then back through in a safe manner," he said.
Brown said the district will have a better idea of its long-term plans by the end of the week.
"We will be rerouting a couple of different ways to get students, you know, to the village proper," he said.
The district communicated with families through it's transportation communication app called Ride 360 and explained drop-off times would likely be delayed.
The planned new road will connect Thornwood Crossing to Thornwood Drive, with a new three-span, steel girder bridge over Raccoon Creek and the bike path, and a new roundabout at an intersection of Reddington Road, Thornwood Drive and a relocated River Road.
The project, which will cost about $17 million, will be put out for bid in March, Morehead said. Construction should start in May or June and take 18 to 24 months.
The project will help create a semi truck-friendly economic development corridor from Ohio 16 to Interstate 70, with vehicles on Ohio 16 exiting onto Thornwood Crossing, traveling on the new roadway to Thornwood Drive, south in Heath to Ridgely Tract Road, then onto Ohio 79 into Hebron and onto the interstate.
The state's Transportation Review Advisory Council, which approves funding of major construction projects for the Ohio Department of Transportation, gave final approval of the project a year ago, allowing for the release of $9.5 million in construction funds.
Due to inflation, city officials will return to TRAC next week to ask for additional money, Morehead said. The funding sources are many, but TRAC is the major contributor.
The bridge, built in 1833 to carry water for the Ohio & Erie Canal, carries about 10,000 vehicles per day now, Morehead said.
“We’ve limited truck traffic to 20 tons, and that’s not been complied with at all,” Morehead said. "We would need police there with scales."
Rick Platt, executive director of the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority, tweeted, "This impacts. Big time. It's the northern end of the largest manufacturing corridor in central Ohio. Food, defense, life sciences, metals, energy, and many diverse manufacturers use this bridge to move freight and personnel."
A fatal crash occurred crossing the bridge in 2007, and trucks also crashed at the bridge in 2009 and 2015.
The plans have been to close the bridge to traffic when the new road opens, but not remove the 189-year-old structure.
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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Cherry Valley bridge closure could last until 2025
