Stow Street bridge replacement still years away

Kent drivers, beware: those barrels lining the south side of the Stow Street bridge will likely remain in place for at least another year.

2028: that’s when the county hopes to start replacing the entire structure, a project slated at this point to cost some $4 million. No word on when construction is set to start, but the bridge will be completely closed for up to three months from the big day.

The barrels first appeared in March 2022, when a routine inspection revealed small rust spots just under the bridge’s railing, said Mike Collins, project manager with the county engineer’s office. The “localized deterioration,” as he termed it, prompted the county to investigate what fix, if any, was needed.

Though the county’s original plan was to repair the structure, “constructability concerns” indicated that total replacement, including the abutments, would be more practical and cost effective, he said.

The bridge now has two 12-foot lanes and a 4-foot sidewalk. Plans are to end up with two 10-foot lanes, a 5-foot sidewalk on the north side and a 10-foot shared use path on the south side for pedestrians and bicyclists alike.

That shared use path will be separated from the motor roadway by a curb and a 4-foot-high concrete barrier, Collin said, referencing the barriers often seen on highway construction projects.

“We want to be able to accommodate those hikers and bikers to the east side of the Cuyahoga River and, currently, there's no true access to get over there as far as a shared use path,” Collins said. “That is really the governing factor for that, and then we'll be improving that roadway from the bridge up to the next intersection.” 

Kent City Engineer Jim Bowling said the shared use path on the south side will continue to Franklin Avenue, where pedestrians and bicyclists can easily access points in the downtown area. On the north side of Stow Street bridge, access to an already existing trail at Tannery Park will be easier, he said.

Financing the project so far are a $200,000 design grant from the Akron Metropolitan Area Transportation Study and a $1.9 million grant from the County Engineers Association of Ohio. The county and Kent will also each kick in $25,000 for design costs. The rest? Collins said his office is seeking additional grant dollars.

Though Kent plow crews will clear the bridge in nasty weather, the city’s parks and recreation department will be tasked with plowing and salting the shared use path. Shoving the snow back into the road and dumping it off the edge of the bridge are not options, so workers will simply have to carry it to the other side of the bridge, he said.