NORTHEAST OHIO — The Ohio Department of Transportation will begin work on the Interstate 271 northbound exit at Cedar and Brainard Roads on Monday.
ODOT said the exit ramp is getting a much-needed makeover to improve safety and reduce slowdowns and stops on I-271.
The city of Pepper Pike said that right now, the Cedar Road exit frequently experiences significant backups. That can create hazardous conditions that often require extensive support from local safety forces, like from the cities of Lyndhurst and Beachwood.
ODOT said this project seeks to correct that problem by extending the exit ramp and adding a second exit lane so more cars will be able to fit without spilling onto the highway.
"We get a lot of reports of people trying to cut to the head of the line," Isaac Hunt, a public information officer with ODOT, said. "Cut right in at the last second to get on that exit ramp and caused some near misses or even some crashes. It'll help alleviate some of that pressure on those cities to utilize their safety forces elsewhere."
The express lane ramps ahead of the exit are also being swapped to provide added distance for those needing to merge across three lanes prior to exiting.
ODOT said the previous entrance to the express lanes south of Fairmount Boulevard will become the exit. The previous express lane exit north of Fairmount Boulevard will become an express lane entrance.
This will help eliminate the danger caused by drivers exiting the express lane just before the exit and then crossing over local lanes to get to the exit ramp, where the lane-crossing drivers often encounter stopped cars.
The express lane crossover ramps at Fairmount Boulevard will be closed beginning April 28.
The project is expected to be completed by mid-October.
