Cuyahoga Community College administration employees have front row view of Inner Belt Bridge construction

CLEVELAND, Ohio Cuyahoga Community College's administration building appears marooned amid a sea of construction equipment and dirt at the corner of Carnegie Avenue and Ontario Street.

Just south of the brick building, hard-hatted workers are constructing an on-ramp and approach road to the new Inner Belt Bridge. To the west, a contractor is building a parking garage for Tri-C to replace spots taken by the Ohio Department of Transportation for the bridge. Nearby, ODOT is reconstructing the intersection of Ontario and Carnegie and relocating a freeway on-ramp.

"As a kid I loved to play with Tonka toys so I love this," said Peter MacEwan, vice president of facilities development and operations, as he looked out of the windows of his third-floor office as excavators and other heavy equipment moved dirt for the bridge project. MacEwan, an engineer who oversees all construction for the college, also is fascinated by the project itself.

But he still worries about future noise and vibration from traffic once the road is complete in 2013.

The college had baseline vibration measurements taken at the administration building, which has double-pane windows, before construction began. And the college will take more readings when the project is done, he said.

Tri-C officials had little recourse when ODOT said it had to realign the on-ramp from Carnegie Avenue at the east end of the building and widen the Interstate 90 lanes in the approach to the bridge. The state bought a quarter acre and is building a 25-foot tall retaining wall behind the building.

Tri-C lost 60 of its 127 parking spots and will spend $5 million to $6 million to build a four-story parking garage for 200 vehicles. It received $3.6 million from ODOT for the land, which included compensation for about $250,000 in lost parking revenue from events at nearby Progressive Field and Quicken Loans Arena, MacEwan said.

Tri-C built its administration building on Carnegie Avenue in 1973 as the central location for the school's downtown, Parma and Highland Hills campuses. But over the two decades following the opening, the neighborhood grew more crowded, primarily from the construction of Progressive Field and The Q. In 2001, as more space was needed, a third floor was added to the building. Parking was always a challenge.

The new garage, scheduled to open in January, will ease that problem. Until then, employees are parking a few blocks away in a lot rented from Peterson Nut.

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Cuyahoga Community College administration employees have front row view of Inner Belt Bridge construction