Federal grant awarded to help shore up Cuyahoga River at Irishtown Bend

(Plain Press, September 2019)       On July 25^th, United States Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao announced the award of a $9.02 million Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant to the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) to rehabilitate aged and failing riverbank infrastructure along the Cuyahoga River. The project includes the installation of approximately 2,600 linear feet of sheet steel bulkheads along the shoreline of the Cuyahoga Ship channel. This stretch of deteriorating shoreline, which is referred to as the Irishtown Bend, is at risk of failure due to the existence of aged and damaged bulkheads, which would close Irishtown Bend to ship and barge traffic. The project supports economic vitality by rehabilitating aged and failing infrastructure and thereby preserving shipping access to the Cuyahoga River’s channel.  

The project generates regional safety benefits by preventing future hillside failures at Irishtown Bend and economic benefits from avoided business loss in the event of a hillside failure. The project demonstrates innovation through the implementation of a design-build method for project delivery in addition to employing a competitive procurement process to secure partners to execute the innovative financing strategy of a private crowdfunding platform.