COLUMBUS, OH -- A $1.7 million project to stabilize and protect the upper bluff of Edgewater Park is now underway at Cleveland Lakefront State Park, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR).
ODNR engineers have monitored a gradual slip in the bluff over the last 12 years. Recently, that slippage began to pose a significant threat to a popular multi-use trail and other park facilities. The current stabilization project will protect the integrity of Edgewater Park as a recreational facility and secure its use for future generations of visitors. All work is slated for completion in August 2004.
The heavily used recreational trail across the bluff has been temporarily relocated to the south side of the construction site for the convenience and safety of park visitors. The park's Circle Parking Lot will be closed during the construction period.
"We want to maintain the multi-use trail as an important recreational link between the upper and lower portions of the park," said Dan West, Ohio State Parks chief. "Once construction is finished next summer, the trail will be reestablished on its former site for the bikers, joggers and hikers who use the facility on a regular basis."
A fenced construction area is located between the parking lot and the Dansa sculpture. In coming weeks, excavating equipment will begin stripping away the bluff's damp and unstable topsoil face to reveal a shale substrata. While the topsoil dries in a designated area nearby, workers will install a subsurface drainage system on the shale bluff. The dried topsoil will then be compacted and replaced over the new drainage system.
Additional planned improvements at the park include a repaved parking lot and roadways.
About 10.5 million people visit the various units of Cleveland Lakefront State Park each year to swim, bike, picnic, hike and boat. It is the most frequently visited state park in Ohio and affords some of the best skyline vistas of downtown Cleveland. Anyone seeking further information about the project should contact Cleveland Lakefront State Park at 216-881-8141.