MOT-Ridge Avenue 18

The Ridge Avenue Bridge just north of downtown Dayton is situated in the historic neighborhood of Riverdale, adjacent to Triangle Park. The existing structure was replaced with a signature style bridge that includes aesthetic treatments to many of the bridge elements, including nighttime lighting of the substructure and beam elements. A plaza area located at the east end of the project is supported by retaining walls, adjacent to the park property, and contains a World War I memorial that is very important to the local community.

The recently removed bridge was originally built in 1927 and carried nearly 5,000 vehicles a day to and from residential neighborhoods and the nearby Boonshoft Museum. This project replaced the original two-span steel girder bridge with a three span structure consisting of prestressed concrete I-beams on reinforced concrete wall type abutments and wall/column type piers. Two left-turn lanes were installed westbound Ridge Avenue onto Riverside Drive and lane from eastbound Ridge Avenue onto Riverside Drive. The new bridge transverse section provides 10’ wide sidewalks, which is an improvement over the current 6’ wide sidewalks on the existing structure providing additionally path space for pedestrians. Additionally, the existing bus stop located at the southeast corner of Ridge Avenue and Riverside Drive was improved. Located underneath the structure is a bike path in which thousands of pedestrians and bicyclists travel daily along the Stillwater Bikeway Trail. The Bikeway was improved under the bridge and is now wider, offering better sight distance for users and is less prone to flooding and the collection of debris.