ROCKSIDE_PED_BRIDGE_NPSPHOTO_15321201.JPG

The Rockside Road pedestrian bridge in Independence, which the Cuyahoga Valley National Park dedicated Aug. 28, 2013.

(National Park Service photo)

INDEPENDENCE, Ohio -- The

today dedicated a 240-foot pedestrian bridge across the Cuyahoga River that will be a vital link in the Ohio & Erie Canal Towpath Trail.

The

runs from the Lake Erie shoreline in Cuyahoga County to New Philadelphia in Tuscarawas County.

The park received a $1.3 million grant last year that underwrote the bridge project, according to a news release from the National Park Service. The span joins the Towpath Trail's Lock 39 Trailhead to the

Rockside Station in Independence.

The national park said the bridge enhances visitor safety because it reduces the need to use busy roadways. The bridge also will benefit so-called Bike Aboard! passengers on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad. The program allows visitors to ride their bicycles on the trail in one direction. Then they can board the train at any of the eight stations in the park for the return trip.

"CVSR has served an average of 21,000 Bike Aboard! passengers each year since 2008," railroad CEO Craig Tallman said in a press release.

A 2.7-mile section of the trail was completed in May, near Zoar. When finished, the trail will stretch over 100 miles. Currently 84 miles are done.

The Cleveland Metroparks system considers the Towpath Trail an enhancement for the parks it has started managing along the Cuyahoga River and the lakefront.