Demolition of the Eagle Avenue lift bridge, Cleveland's first vertical lift bridge, is expected to begin as early as January 2027, when Ohio Department of Transportation crews plan to lower its span onto barges for disassembly on the Cuyahoga River.
Geoffrey Moreland, a Medina firefighter and owner of a fire prevention business who runs the YouTube channel Truss & Rivets, has salvaged the bridge's main control panel. He told Signal Cleveland he obtained approval for the removal through correspondence with ODOT and coordination with demolition contractors. Moreland estimates the roughly 450-pound panel dates to the 1950s or 1960s, not the bridge's 1930s construction, based on manufacturer markings.
The bridge, completed in 1931 and closed to vehicles in 2005, is a design from the firm of John Alexander Low Waddell. A 2021 inspection report found significant corrosion and damage, concluding that only demolition or a full renovation could address long-term safety concerns.
Moreland said he is gathering photographs, documents, and personal accounts related to the bridge's seven decades of service, and he hopes to connect the restored panel to a scale model of the bridge as part of a proposed Cleveland Museum of Engineering and Transportation. No location, timeline, or funding has been finalized.