{{Use American English|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox bridge | bridge_name = Charles Berry Bridge | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = Joseph H. Thompson.jpg | image_size = 300px | alt = | caption = | official_name = Erie Avenue Bridge | other_name = | carries = {{jct|state=OH|US|6}} | crosses = Black River | locale = Lorain, Ohio | owner = | maint = | id = | architect = | designer = | engineering = | design = Bascule | material = | length = | width = | height = | mainspan = | spans = | pierswater = | load = | clearance = | below = | life = | builder = | fabricator = | begin = | complete = | cost = | open = | inaugurated = | toll = | traffic = | preceded = | followed = | heritage = | collapsed = | closed = | replaces = | map_cue = | map_image = | map_alt = | map_text = | map_width = | coordinates = {{coord|41.469762|-82.175441|display=title,inline|region:US-OH_type:landmark}} | lat = | long = | references = | extra = }}
The '''Charles Berry Bridge''' is a double leaf bascule bridge in Lorain, Ohio along Erie Avenue / U.S. Route 6 (US 6) and spans the Black River.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Barr & Prevost |title=Charles Berry Lift Bridge Annual Inspection |url=https://jmt.com/projects/charles-berry-lift-bridge-annual-inspection/ |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Johnson, Mirmiran & Thompson}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=8 May 2024 |title=Drawbridge Operation Regulation; Black River, Lorain, OH |url=https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/04/08/2024-07368/drawbridge-operation-regulation-black-river-lorain-oh |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Federal Register}}</ref>
== History == The Erie Avenue Bridge (as it was formerly called)<ref name=":0">[http://www.loraincounty.us/Departments/Charles-Berry-Bascule-Bridge.aspx A Brief History: The Charles Berry Bascule Bridge] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507042940/http://www.loraincounty.us/Departments/Charles-Berry-Bascule-Bridge.aspx|date=May 7, 2009}} Lorain County, Ohio. Retrieved May 20, 2013.</ref> was built in 1940. Bridge construction was funded by a bond issue in Lorain County with financial assistance with a Public Works Administration grant.'''<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |date=1940 |title=Lorain Bascule Sets New Span Record |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_enr_1940-12-05_125_23/page/46/mode/2up?q=Lorain+bascule |journal=Engineering News-Record |volume=125 |issue=23 |pages=46:48 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref>''' Wilbur Watson and Associates with Lorain County Engineer H.L. Dunham oversaw design and construction. Components of the bridge were constructed by different companies, including the Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, the Mt. Vernon Bridge and Iron Company, and the Dingle Clark Company.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Mount Vernon Bridge Co. |url=https://www.knoxhistory.org/index.php/exhibits/business-industry/the-mount-vernon-bridge-co |access-date=15 May 2025 |website=Knox County Historical Society}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Historic Bridges: Lorain County, Ohio |url=https://historicbridges.org/b_a_list.php?ct=&c=&ptype=county&pname=Lorain+County,+Ohio |access-date=15 May 2025 |website=Historic Bridges}}</ref>
Before the bascule bridge, the city relied on a swing bridge for car and foot traffic between the east and west sides of Lorain. The swing bridge remained in use while the bascule bridge was being built which limited the area available during construction and subsequently impacted where the bascule bridge's operating machinery was installed.<ref name=":1" />
The bridge is thought to be the second longest bascule bridge in the world, with sources citing that it was considered the longest at the time of construction.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Charles Berry Bridge |url=https://www.loraincountyohio.gov/167/Charles-Berry-Bridge |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Lorain County Ohio}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |date=16 August 2021 |title=Charles Berry Bridge Wins Historic Bridge Preservation Award |url=https://www.hardestyhanover.com/charles-berry-bridge-wins-historic-bridge-preservation-award/ |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Hardesty Hanover}}</ref><ref name=":4">{{Cite news |last=Reynolds |first=Dylan |date=12 April 2022 |title=Locking mechanism problem causes ODOT to close Charles Berry Bascule Bridge |url=https://chroniclet.com/news/298851/locking-mechanism-problem-causes-odot-to-close-charles-berry-bascule-bridge/ |access-date=12 May 2025 |work=The Chronicle Telegram}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Bascule Bridge Restoration |url=https://supremeintegratedtechnology.com/portfolio/bascule-bridge-restoration |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Supreme Integrated Technology}}</ref> Some sources argue that this designation is challenging to confirm because of the different styles of bascule bridges and methods in how they are measured,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Erie Avenue Bridge |url=https://historicbridges.org/bridges/browser/?bridgebrowser=ohio/lorainerieavenuebridge/ |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Historicbridges.org}}</ref> with conflicting information existing on which bridges are the longest and why from different sources.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Longest double-leaf bascule bridge |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/726140-longest-double-leaf-bascule-bridge |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Guinness World Records}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Broadway Bridge |url=https://multco.us/info/broadway-bridge |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Multnomah County}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Broadway Bridge, Spanning Willamette River at Broadway Street, Portland, Multnomah County, OR |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/or0292/ |access-date=12 May 2025 |website=Library of Congress}}</ref>
=== Renaming to Charles Berry Bridge === The bridge was officially renamed in 1988 and dedicated in honor of Lorain native Charles J. Berry, a Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during a minor grenade battle on Iwo Jima.<ref>{{Cite news |date=10 November 1988 |title=Ceremony marks Veterans Day |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&t=favorite%3A17C7A73A%21Morning%20Journal%20Collection%20with%20historical%20archives&sort=YMD_date%3AD&fld-nav-0=YMD_date&val-nav-0=1988%20-%201988&hide_duplicates=2&fld-base-0=alltext&maxresults=60&val-base-0=charles%20berry%20bridge&docref=image/v2%3A17C7A73A72EFB355%40EANX-NB-18878A0F0A6501B4%402447476-1887885B2A3B6A59%4019-1887885B2A3B6A59%40 |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=April 15, 2025 |work=The Lorain Journal |pages=21}}</ref> The bascule bridge is one of two bridges in Lorain used for pedestrian and automobile traffic. The second bridge is the Lofton Henderson Memorial Bridge which was named after Lorainite Lofton Henderson who was awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism at the historic Battle of Midway.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3" />
=== Maintenance and upkeep === The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) agreed in 1989 to cover funding for the bridge which saves Lorain County nearly half a million US dollars per year.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Gandee |first=Linda |date=5 July 2016 |title=The bridges over Lorain's Black River |url=https://www.cleveland.com/avon/2016/07/the_bridges_over_lorains_black.html |access-date=15 May 2025 |work=Cleveland.com}}</ref> The Charles Berry Bridge is one of only three bridges in Ohio that the ODOT will currently fund.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Berry Bridge |url=https://www.loraincountyohio.gov/167/Charles-Berry-Bridge |access-date=15 May 2025 |website=Lorain County Ohio}}</ref><ref name=":4" />
==See also== {{Portal|Transport|Engineering|Ohio}} * The Ashtabula lift bridge, another bascule bridge in Ohio
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20090507042940/http://www.loraincounty.us/Departments/Charles-Berry-Bascule-Bridge.aspx Official website]
Category:Bascule bridges in the United States Category:Buildings and structures in Lorain, Ohio Category:Bridges completed in 1988 Category:Transportation in Lorain County, Ohio Category:Road bridges in Ohio Category:U.S. Route 6 Category:Bridges of the United States Numbered Highway System