LORAIN, Ohio — The Charles Berry Bascule Bridge in Lorain is closed until further notice as Ohio Department of Transportation Crews work to repair damage on the historic bridge.
ODOT didn't say what type of damage caused the closure. ODOT's interactive traffic map, OHGO, shows an estimated end repair date of April 29.
The 1,052-foot bridge, located on U.S. Route 6 between Washington Avenue and Arizona Avenue, crosses the Black River. It has has a bascule span of 333 feet and carries four lanes of traffic. It averages 700 openings per year.
The bridge, previously known as The Erie Avenue Bridge, was renamed on Veterans Day 1988 in honor of Charles Berry, a Marine from Lorain who lost his life in the Battle of Iwo Jima and was awarded The Congressional Medal of Honor.
According to Lorain County officials, the bridge was built in the 1930s and opened in the fall of 1940. At the time of its completion, it was the largest Bascule Bridge in the world—a title now held by the Rethe Bascule Bridge located in Hamburg, Germany, according to Guiness World Records.
In February, the bridge installed a new remote control system that raises and lowers the bridge decks.
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