Hopkins Road to close for project

Bridge in northern part of city deemed deficient

A bridge replacement project is in the works for a portion of Hopkins Road in Mentor.

April 30 is the target date to close the bridge over Martin Ohm Ditch northeast of the Route 615-Hendricks Road intersection. The detour is still being finalized.

The Lake County design-build project consists of replacing the existing single-span concrete slab bridge with a new single-span structure of about 35 feet.

“The bridge is structurally deficient,” said Lake County Assistant Chief Deputy Engineer Traci A. Salkiewicz.

The project also involves straightening and raising up to 400 lineal feet of the approach roadway alignment, pavement construction, guardrail, seeding and related items.

The work is scheduled to be completed by Oct. 19.

Construction cost is $938,250. The project is being funded through the Federal/State Funding Exchange Process in which the state pays for 80 percent and the local match is

20 percent.

Salkiewicz said the bridge’s age is unknown, but it was widened to include bike lanes in 1992.

Average daily traffic near the bridge is about 4,000 vehicles per day, Mentor Engineer Dave Swiger said.

“The detour will impact traffic,” he said. “However, it is relatively short in distance and utilizes main routes, so impacts to traffic should be minimal.”

Construction also is planned on the southern end of Hopkins this season. The road will be resurfaced from Route 20 to Route 84 at a cost of

$448,000.

The city was approved for a $149,900 grant and $50,000 loan from the Ohio Public Works Commission.

“The project should take a little less than three months to complete,” Swiger said.

“Due to the OPWC funding cycle, the work will not start until after July 1 of 2018.”

Average daily traffic along that section of Hopkins is roughly 7,000 vehicles.

Two-way traffic will be maintained with flaggers during construction.