CLEVELAND — On the banks of the Cuyahoga River, Cleveland leaders gathered Friday to mark the beginning of work to stabilize the hillside at Irishtown Bend. It is a project that has been in the works for more than a decade.
Today, Cleveland’s Irishtown Bend looks like a typical sloping hillside of green but starting in the 1800s it was a neighborhood home to an immigrant Irish population who came to the U.S. in search of a better life. It started as a shantytown with one-room shacks but soon grew into a neighborhood.
In the mid-1900s the area fell into decline and was razed in the 1950s, with fill material placed on the hillside in the 1960s which combined with a weak clay layer deep beneath caused the hillside to shift posing a very real risk, as this Port of Cleveland video shows, of a catastrophic failure, a landslide into the river.
“The danger that this hillside could catastrophically collapse into the shipping channel and impact our $4.7 billion maritime shipping economy and the 22,000 jobs it supports was very real,” said Port President and CEO William Friedman.
The $60 million stabilization project sets the stage to transform the hillside into a 23-acre public park and community amenity, in total a $100 million project.
The Port of Cleveland has been leading the effort to stabilize Irishtown Bend since 2010 and credited multiple community stakeholders in getting to this point.
“Protecting this shipping channel is critical to keep our economy flowing, but also a priority for the Port is maximizing the potential of Cleveland’s waterfront – balancing tourism, public access, recreational uses, and, of course, vital job-creating industrial uses. All these things mean economic growth and an improved quality of life,” Friedman said.
The first step in the stabilization process will be to remove fill material placed on the hillside in the 1960s, which will reduce the forces causing the slope failure when combined with the natural geology of the site. That slope failure has eroded and caused the 2007 closure of Riverbed Road and threatens a key sewer line that services Cleveland’s west side, which will be repaired as well. The project also includes installing more than 2,100 linear feet of bulkhead at the river’s edge.
More than $14 million in federal dollars are supporting the project, and Friedman credited Senator Sherrod Brown for being a steadfast advocate on behalf of Greater Cleveland.
“So many of us have fought for so long to get this project done, and today we finally begin this new chapter for our lake and for Cleveland,” said Brown. “The Irishtown Bend project will play an important role in the continued economic resurgence of Northeast Ohio, connecting communities with the lakefront, protecting vital waterways, and encouraging future economic and maritime development.”
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb said “No big project in Cleveland gets done in a vacuum. This is a prime example of what can be accomplished when the private and public sectors align on equitable initiatives in support of all Clevelanders. Partners are critical, and I’d like to thank every agency here for looking at the big picture and planning for the future.”
Councilman Kerry McCormack said he is looking forward to the years ahead when the stabilized hillside is home to a new park with extensive views of the river and Cleveland’s downtown skyline.
“This project will dramatically change the Cleveland landscape,” he said. “It is a symbol of Cleveland’s history and a positive reflection of where Cleveland is going. This is so much more than a major infrastructure project, it is also the foundation for equitable access to new high-quality public green space for Cleveland residents, including thousands living in public housing, and visitors of all different backgrounds.”
Friedman recognized Grace Gallucci, Executive Director and CEO of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordination Agency, for being a stalwart in her efforts that helped secure at least 40 percent of the funding for the project.
Gallucci said, “This project is crucial to economic development and quality of life in the region, and that’s why NOACA contributed nearly half of the necessary funding to bring it to fruition.’’
In addition to the more than $14 million in federal funds, the project includes $14.5 million from the State of Ohio and a total of nearly $19 million from the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District, the City of Cleveland, and Cuyahoga County.
