Joyce Announces $9.02 Million Federal Grant Awarded to Rehabilitate Irishtown Bend

WASHINGTON – This week, Congressman Dave Joyce (OH-14) announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation will award the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) $9.2 million to rehabilitate the riverbank infrastructure along the Cuyahoga River at Irishtown Bend. Dave has long supported requests for federal funding on behalf of this effort, having personally advocated for these funds in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao in April of this year.

“This is great news for Cleveland and all of Northeast Ohio,” said Dave. “Over the last decade, we have seen the infrastructure of Irishtown Bend crumble away and if it reaches the point of collapsing, it could shut down the entire Cuyahoga River shipping channel. With this funding, NOACA can prevent that from happening, protect the 20,000 jobs and $3.5 billion in commerce the channel provides, and ensure Northeast Ohio’s economy can continue to thrive. I was proud to support this critical project and I thank Secretary Chao for recognizing the need to maintain the infrastructure of Irishtown Bend.”

Earlier this year, Dave sent a letter to Secretary Chao formally supporting NOACA’s request for funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation to rehabilitate the riverbank at Irishtown Bend. Specifically, NOACA’s rehabilitation project would stabilize the hill with 2,600 linear feet of new bulkheads and tiebacks along the Cuyahoga River’s federal navigation channel, not only steadying the hillside, but also protecting the channel and ensuring billions in economic impact and tens of thousands of jobs.

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