Replacing Aqueduct in Park Service Plan

12/18/2009

7 November 2009

By:  Bob Downing, bdowning@thebeaconjournal.com.
The Akron Beacon Journal

The National Park Service wants to replace the historic Tinkers Creek Aqueduct in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

Construction could begin next spring and the project could be completed late next year or early 2011.

 

That recommendation is included in the park’s now-completed Environmental Assessment and is the subject of a 20-day public comment period that ends Nov. 29.

 

The park rejected a no-action alternative that was analyzed in the report.

 

Replacing the structure will cost up to $2 million and will be funded with federal stimulus funds, said park engineer Rob Bobel.

 

The metal structure had carried the Ohio and Erie Canal over Tinkers Creek in Valley View in the northern part of the park.

 

The aqueduct was deemed unsafe and closed in 2000. In 2002, trail traffic was routed on the nearby vehicle bridge over Tinkers Creek.

 

In 2007, the remnants of the aqueduct were removed and a new trail bridge was built over the creek next to the aqueduct. That work included temporary piping to carry canal water across Tinkers Creek.

 

Those repairs allowed park officials to maintain water in the northern part of the canal. That work cost about $550,000.

 

The 90-foot-long aqueduct was built in 1915. It was the third aqueduct at that site off Canal Road.

 

The aqueduct was listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was one of four in the Cuyahoga Valley. The only other surviving one is on Mill Creek in Garfield Heights.

The report is available and comments can be submitted via the park’s Web site at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/cuva.

 

Comments can also be mailed to: Superintendent, Cuyahoga Valley National Park, 15610 Vaughn Road, Brecksville Ohio, 44141.

 

For more information, contact Bobel at 440-546-5972.