BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Neighbors on the border of Brunswick and Strongsville are applauding the transportation budget passed this week at the Ohio Statehouse. The bill includes a provision repealing language that could have required controversial highway access along Boston Road.
“Probably last night was my first good sleep in two years. I don’t have to have this in the back of my mind,” said Sue Mazzola.
Neighbors like Mazzola, who’s lived in her Boston Road home for more than 40 years, have worried for almost two years about losing their homes.
“We were going to redo the house, update it. And we started. And then we got this news and have put everything on hold now,” explained Sherri Hamm, who lives on the Strongsville side of Boston Road.
The long-debated proposal for an interchange from I-71 to Boston Road heated up in 2023.
RELATED:Boston Road neighbors raise concerns about proposed highway interchange
Then State Representative Tom Patton (R-Strongsville), who was also serving as the chair of the House Finance Subcommittee on Transportation at the time, inserted language into the state transportation bill requiring limited access on and off ramps every 4.5 miles on the interstate between cities with more than 35,000 people, when at least one of the cities is in a county with more than 1 million people.
The criteria appeared tailored for a more than 5-mile stretch of I-71 from Route 82 in Strongsville to Route 303 in Brunswick.
Patton touted it as a safety provision to reduce crashes along the I-71 corridor southwest of Cleveland and address congestion along State Route 82 and Howe Road in Strongsville.
The move immediately drew pushback from Brunswick and Strongsville neighbors along Boston Road.
“Beyond the hundreds of homes that it would take out—people would physically lose their homes—it would turn a residential street into a commercial corridor,” said Brunswick City Council President Nicholas Hanek.
Mazzola added, “We weren’t going to sit back and let this happen because it was not right.”
For two years, neighbors along Boston Road posted signs, held petition drives, and attended meetings and rallies opposing the proposed highway access.
RELATED: Neighbors rally against proposed Boston Road Interchange project
The groundswell garnered support from other state lawmakers.
In 2024, Senate Bill 155 included language to repeal the previous requirement.
RELATED: Future of proposed Boston Road interchange hinges on state lawmakers
That legislative session ended without a final vote from House lawmakers on the bill. The language was once again included in the transportation budget and received final approval Wednesday.
It will head to the governor’s desk next.
“I’m asking him to please sign it and end this nightmare for us. It’s time now,” Mazzola said.
Patton wasn’t available for an interview Thursday. By phone, he told News 5 he was disappointed the provision was eliminated from the transportation budget. He said the legislation would have allowed for state funding to pay for the safety provision.
He also believes Boston Road could still be a viable option for highway access.
The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) are currently studying traffic patterns and potential solutions for the I-71 corridor near Strongsville and Brunswick.
The City of Brunswick and neighbors called it a step in the right direction that could provide alternatives to a Boston Road interchange.
RELATED: New study to take a look at traffic congestion near proposed Boston Road Interchange project
“I’d love them to find a solution to the problem, I really would,” said Hamm. “One that doesn’t take families’ homes - whether that’s here or anywhere in Strongsville.”
The two-year NOACA and ODOT study is scheduled to conclude in 2026. Gov. Mike DeWine has until March 31 to sign the transportation budget into law.
