The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
TIME TO SEE ORANGE
What big road-repair projects will slow your commute this construction season?
“They call here and complain about potholes, but when we fix them, they call here and complain about us fixing them.” — James R. Gills, Lake engineer
Spring has sprung, and orange barrels seem to be sprouting up everywhere along with the daffodils.
As with every construction season, there are numerous road, bridge and freeway improvements in Lake and Geauga counties that are expected to hamper driving this year.
“Two projects that will affect Lake County traffic the most this season would be the bridge deck replacement on SOM Center Road over state Route 2 in Eastlake and the replacement of the Elm Street bridge deck of state Route 2 in the city of Painesville,” said Marissa
McDaid, public information officer for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 12.
“Both of these projects are part of routine maintenance that will increase the longevity of these structures.”
Eastlake
The $4.4 million project in Eastlake to replace the bridge over Route 2, Lakeland Boulevard and the CSX railroad tracks began in early March with daily single lane closures for preliminary maintenance, McDaid said.
All traffic between Vine Street and Euclid Avenue will be shifted onto the existing northbound lanes of the Route 91 bridge and will be maintained with one lane in each direction.
Because of the lane configuration across the bridge, left turns will be prohibited from Route 91 northbound and southbound to enter Route 2. Route 91 north motorists headed for Route 2 west will be detoured via
Route 2 east to Vine Street to Route 2 west. Route 91 south motorists destined for Route 2 east will be detoured east on Vine Street to Route 2 east.
Traffic will remain in this configuration through fall. The SOM Center Road bridge project is expected to be completed by July 2018.
Another Eastlake undertaking will be a $2.2 million citywide resurfacing project expected to begin in June, said Lake County Engineer James R. Gills.
“That’s a 120-day ODOT maintenance project,” Gills said. “The county is managing the project for ODOT.”
Mentor
The long-awaited, $5 million Plaza Boulevard Extension project that will extend Plaza Boulevard from Mentor Avenue to Tyler Boulevard is making headway, Mentor City Engineer Dave Swiger said.
“It is anticipated that all railroad crossing work will be completed and the roadway will be opened to traffic by late October,” Swiger said.
The city engineer also detailed other upcoming
road plans:
• The 2017 Road Repair Program: This $1.2 million project will repair or resurface 24 Mentor streets. In addition, Mentor-on-the-Lake will include its streets within the city of Mentor’s contracts. The work is anticipated to begin in April with final project completion in August. Traffic will be maintained on all streets.
• LAK-20-9.47 Widening: This $1.9 million project will widen Mentor Avenue from Center Street to Hart Street for the purpose of constructing a left turn lane for the length of the project. Construction is anticipated to begin in June with completion anticipated in June 2018. Twoway traffic will be maintained with lane closures expected.
• LAK-84-8.11 Resurfacing: This $1.3 million project will resurface Route 84 from Route 306 to Route 615. The project is anticipated to begin in June with completion in September. Two-way traffic will be maintained.
• Marigold Road Reconstruction: This $3 million undertaking will provide
for the complete reconstruction of Marigold Road from Woodridge Lane to Lake Overlook Drive. The project will include sanitary sewer work, storm sewer work and complete roadway reconstruction. The project is anticipated to begin in July and completed in June 2018. Oneway traffic will be provided with a local detour for southbound traffic.
• Mentor Avenue/Garfield Park Turn Lane: This $525,000 project will construct an eastbound and westbound left turn lane at the Mentor Avenue/Lucretia/Garfield Park intersection. Construction is anticipated to begin in May with a late summer completion. Two-way traffic is expected to be maintained with lane closures.
• Midland Road Storm Sewer Improvement: This $600,000 project will remove and replace about 1,600 linear feet of storm sewer. Traffic will be maintained during construction. The project is expected to be completed by September.
Geauga County
For the 2017 construction
year, Geauga County has nine capital improvement projects scheduled, said Deputy County Engineer Shane Hajjar.
The three largest projects are:
• The asphalt resurfacing of 3.34 miles of Claridon-Troy Road from Route 322 to Route 608. The estimated construction cost is $800,000.
• The asphalt resurfacing of 3.03 miles of Chardon-Windsor Road from Route 608 to Route 528. The estimated construction cost is $795,000.
• The asphalt resurfacing of 2.58 miles of Mulberry Road from the Cuyahoga County Line to Route 306. The estimated construction cost is $495,000.
“The remaining six projects include resurfacing of Nelson Road and Kirtland Road, and portions of Thompson Road and Clay Street, culvert replacements on Caves Road, and pavement markings throughout the county,” Hajjar said.
“These projects encompass approximately 7.5 miles of road resurfacing as well as culverts and striping. The combined estimated
construction cost is $1.8 million.”
Concord Township
Beginning in late April or May, the county will begin the Ravenna Road resurfacing project for Concord Township.
“That one is a 60-day, $700,000 project funded by (the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency). That money comes to us when the pavement reaches a certain deterioration,” said the Lake County engineer.
The township also will begin a $300,000 resurfacing public works project in July from Spear Road to Concord Hambden Road.
“It will take about 30 days,” Gills added. “That section of road is absolutely terrible. It’s been beaten up for awhile.”
But no matter what project has drivers annoyed this season, Gills has a request of motorists.
“I just hope the public will be a little patient,” he said.
“They call here and complain about potholes, but when we fix them, they call here and complain about us fixing them.”