The Wendy Park Bridge provides access to Wendy Park on Whiskey Island, connecting the Whiskey Island Trail and the Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail through the West Bank of the Flats and on to the Towpath Trail.

Wendy Park Bridge

Location: Cleveland
Length: 500 feet
Type & uses: Bridge consists of one Tied Arch and two Pratt Truss spans plus paved all-purpose trail approach
Challenge level: Easy; accessible incline to Wendy Park bridge.  (Note: the existing sidewalk along the Willow Avenue Bridge used to access the Wendy Park Bridge is very narrow at 40” and bicycle riders must dismount to cross and take turns crossing the bridge)
Level of Traffic Stress rating:  1; off-street; minimal stress
Hours of operation: 6:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.

Wendy Park Bridge Ribbon Cutting. Wendy Park / Whiskey IslandWendy Park Bridge Ribbon Cutting. Wendy Park / Whiskey Island
Photo: Cuyahoga County

Accessibility, Parking & Operations

Transit:  Multiple RTA routes along nearby Detroit Avenue and W. 25th Street
Biking/Walking:  Cleveland Lakefront Bikeway; Cleveland Foundation Centennial Lake Link Trail
Vehicle:  Edgewater Parkway to Whiskey Island Drive; Flats West Bank
Parking:  Wendy Park on Whiskey Island; street parking along Flats West Bank
Managed & Maintained by: Cleveland Metroparks

Description

The 500-foot-long Wendy Park bridge extends over the Norfolk-Southern railroad tracks and provides a new link between downtown Cleveland and Cleveland Metroparks lakefront parks. The bridge features a 12-foot-wide deck providing a new trail connection for both pedestrians and bicyclists and improved access to Wendy Park, Whiskey Island, former historic coast guard station and Edgewater Park.

Points of Interest & Amenities

History

Timeline: Planning for access to the area that would become Wendy Park began decades ago and was envisioned either as a tunnel under or a bridge over the railroad tracks on Whiskey Island that are now operated by the Norfolk Southern Corporation, and this access was shown in the City of Cleveland’s 2004 Waterfront District Plan. In late 2010, when Wendy Park was owned by Cuyahoga County, conceptual design for a bridge across the railroad tracks was commenced by the County. Cleveland Metroparks acquired Wendy Park from the County in late 2014 and began to advance the bridge project through the “Connecting Cleveland” partnership with The Trust for Public Land and LAND studio. In 2016, the partnership resulted in a $7.95 million federal Transformation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant through the US Department of Transportation that included five trail projects, including construction for the Wendy Park.

Funding: Funding for design came through private funding sources through the Connecting Cleveland Partnership with The Trust for Public Land and LAND studio. Overall, funding for design and/or construction came from TIGER, the Wendy Park Foundation, Cleveland Foundation, The George Gund Foundation, Ohio Department of Natural Resources Community Improvement Project Funding, Cargill, the Louise H. and David S. Ingalls Foundation, K&D Group, the Lubrizol Foundation, the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, the Sears-Swetland Family Foundation, the Kent H. Smith Charitable Trust, and the Federal Economic Development Authority.

Design: KS Associates was the project designer

Construction: Great Lakes Construction Co. was the construction contractor. Construction ran from December 2019-June 2021

Opening: June 24, 2021 (official ribbon cutting)

Cost:  $5.6 million construction

Map

Contact:  Sara Byrnes Maier; sbm@clevelandmetroparks.com

Content provided by: Sara Byrnes Maier, January 2022