The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Resurfacing project has begun
The U.S. 6 resurfacing project has begun, and the process to smooth out the road is going, well, smoothly so far, local merchants said.
On July 19, orange traffic markers sprouted on West Erie Avenue, which is the local name for U.S. 6 in Lorain, between the 21st Street split and Lorain’s western city limit.
It runs along the Lake Erie and is one of Lorain’s main east-west roads.
There are no planned closures or detours for the project, said Crystal Neelon, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 3 office in Ashland.
Some lanes of travel will be restricted, but there will be at least one lane eastbound and one lane westbound during the project, Neelon said.
As of July 19, the main work zones were the area from West Lake Gardens apartments, 5001 W. Erie Ave., west to the Health Associates Branch of CommStar Community Star Credit Union, 5609 W. Erie Ave.
The road surface was ground off in the area from FirstEnergy’s West Lorain Plant to Lorain’s western line, where the city borders Vermilion.
The four-lane West Erie Avenue also is down to two lanes of travel, one eastbound and one westbound, in the area of the bridge over Beaver Creek.
“There’s not been any real issues,” said Bill Schaeffer, owner of Beaver Park Marina, 6101 W. Erie Ave.
The road repairs are welcome if the project improves the surface where the road connects to the bridge, Schaeffer said.
The Beaver Park Marina building would shake when trucks would roll over the bumpy bridge joints, he said.
The marina has about 225 docks south of U.S. 6 and boats travel under a highway bridge and railroad bridge to get to Lake Erie.
Contrary to a rumor going around, the work on the roadway has not cut off the marina from the lake, Schaeffer said.
At CommStar, one customer said it was confusing at first to navigate the orange traffic markers and pull in from West Erie Avenue.
But the branch was busy with mid-day customers July 19, said Erin Beese, marketing and communications coordinator for the credit union.
“It shouldn’t be too much of an issue,” Beese said. “It’s good to see them working on any of the streets in Lorain.”
Mid-day was quiet at George’s Hook & Gun, 5150 W. Erie Ave., because many anglers stop in for bait and gear in the mornings and evenings, said owner George Garwell.
Pavement grinding started that morning, and by lunchtime, the top asphalt was gone in whole lanes.
“They’re moving so fast; I don’t think it’ll bother me at all,” Garwell said.
At Muzik Bros. Auto Care, 704 W. Erie Ave., owner John Muzik said his family-owned shop survived the Oberlin Avenue rebuilding project when it was located on that road.
“That job took weeks,” Muzik said.
He predicted the garage likely will be fine during the U.S. 6 project because it is a destination business where people visit by appointment.
“The road needs to be done, there’s no doubt about it,” Muzik said. “There’s no doubt about it. It’s time.”
Crystal Clear Cleaners, 1143 W. Erie Ave., has a driveway from Oberlin Avenue, so customers can use that even if the U.S. 6 driveway is blocked during construction, said clerk Nancy Schnoering.
With lane closures, “you’ve got to pay attention,” Schnoering said.
On Lorain’s far west side, a worker at Trademark Global, 7951 W. Erie Ave., said it did not appear the project disturbed workers or delivery trucks for the shipping company based in the old Ford plant.
Kevin Knight, executive vice president and general manager for Heidelberg Distributing Co., agreed.
Knight said so far, he had not heard any reports of traffic disruption for the beverage distributor, 5901 Baumhart Road; it also sits in the old Ford plant.
It really hasn’t been too much of a problem,” he said.
Company workers are awaiting the resurfacing of Baumhart Road, Knight added.