The Cleveland Union Terminal Viaduct carries Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority’s (RTA) Red Line over the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland, Ohio.
The planning for RTA’s Red Line began prior to 1930 when the Cleveland Union Terminal opened downtown. The first section, between East 34th and East 55th Streets, had been in use by the Cleveland Interurban Railroad in 1920, and in 1930, the line between East 34th and the Union Terminal was completed. 2 It was not until March 1955 that the eastern half of the Red Line opened from East 55th to Windermere.
The section from downtown southwest to West 117th Street, including a 3,450-foot-long bridge over the Cuyahoga River, opened on August 15. 2 The Red Line entered the terminal via 12 underground platforms.
The Red Line was extended to West Park in 1958 and to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport in 1968, providing the first downtown-to-airport link in North America. 1 2
Information
- State: Ohio
- Route: RTA Red Line
- Type: Pennsylvania Through Truss
- Status: Active - Railroad
- Total Length: 3,450 feet
- Spans:
- Navigational Clearance:
Sources
- Holland, Kevin J. “Cleveland Union Terminal.” Classic American Railroad Terminals. By Kevin J.Holland. N.p.: MBI, 2001. 52-53. Print.
- Vartanoff, David. “Cleveland, Ohio.” nycsubway.org, 2012.
The bridge was part of the original CUT project. Furthermore, the station for the CTS rapid was only 3 tracks serving two platforms.