CLEVELAND — Drivers on the West Side of Cleveland, like Mercedes Glaude, have been dealing with the ongoing construction work on the West 117th Street bridge over Interstate 90.
"Oh it's bad, it's bad," Glaude said. "The traffic is lined up; it's one lane. You're waiting 30 minutes just to get to this point."
But the headaches caused by the work on Interstate 90 will be felt by many more motorists starting this summer with work that will begin under the bridge. ODOT announced plans to repave the roadway from the 71-490 Interchange in Cleveland out to Hilliard Road in Rocky River.
The nearly $140 million project also includes improving drainage along this stretch of road that has had issues with flooding, as we reported last summer. It will be done in phases over the next three years.
"The traffic impacts will be various traffic shifts, bidirectional traffic patterns," said ODOT Engineer Jason Young. "I-90 eastbound will be reduced to three lanes between Hilliard Boulevard and Warren Road and various 28-day ramp closures."
It's not what Seth Hendricks of Cleveland wanted to hear, but he gets it.
"I mean, it's a necessity, you know what I mean. It tares up the cars when it's all potholes everywhere. I mean, it's a slowdown, but you know it's worth it," he said.
And yes, while the work doesn't have the wow factor of a new road, bridge or interchange, this is work that ODOT says is about safety—pointing to the fact that 93 cents of this year's construction dollars will be spent on preserving existing roads and bridges and making them safer for you.
Look for the work on I-90 to begin somewhere around mid-June or early July.
The projects announced by ODOT Tuesday include:
- Cuyahoga County: I-90 Pavement Replacement [lnks.gd] between Hilliard Rd. and the I-71/I-490 interchange in the cities of Rocky River, Lakewood, and Cleveland. Start summer 2024, end summer 2027. Cost: $136.3 million.
- Summit County: SR 8 Hi-Level Bridge replacement over various railroads, North Street, and the Little Cuyahoga River in the city of Akron. Start summer 2023, end summer 2028. Cost: $157.7 million.
- Summit County: I-76/I-77 Akron Beltway Reconstruction. Start summer 2021, end summer 2025. Cost: $160 million.
- Summit County: I-77 widening between Everett Road and State Route 21 in Bath and Richfield Townships. Start fall 2023, end summer 2026. Cost: $75 million.
- Trumbull County: SR 46/SR 82 Diverging Diamond Interchange in Howland Township. Start summer 2023, end fall 2026. Cost: $20.4 million.
- Wayne County: SR 21 Rehabilitation between the Stark County line and the Summit County line. Start spring 2024, end spring 2026. Cost: $29.3 million.
