April 2020
Walsh Construction installs the 203rd and final girder on I-480 Valley View Bridge
VALLEY VIEW, OH - The Walsh Design-Build Team, comprised of contractor Walsh Construction and designer CH2M (now Jacobs), has erected and placed the final steel girder for the new center structure of the I-480 Valley View Bridge, a major milestone in the Ohio Department of Transportation's $228 million rehabilitation and repair project.
The final girder of 203 in total, was set on the bridge's fifteenth span. The project included a wide collection of impressive quantities including:
• 18,400,000 pounds of steel
• 99,610 bolts
• 29,050 linear feet of girders set (5.5 miles)
• 308 critical picks
• Zero recordable safety incidents
The Valley View bridge crosses over the Cuyahoga River Valley providing access to the nearby Willow Freeway (I-77). Approximately 170,000 vehicles utilize the bridge daily, making it one of the state's busiest structures. Due to age and its steady volume of traffic, the bridge was in need of repairs and the existing concrete decks required replacement.
The Walsh Design-Build Team designed and is constructing a new center structure to migrate traffic and facilitate repairs to be made on the existing bridges.
When complete, the new center structure will provide two additional permanent lanes of traffic in each direction, improve access and mobility, and minimize future maintenance costs. Additional project improvements include an approach roadway to connect the new structure to the existing highway system, drainage, traffic control, and lighting.