CLEVELAND — A two year, $11.5 million road resurfacing project affecting tens of thousands of drivers across four communities is anticipated to begin next month. The oft-traveled Brookpark Road between I-480 and West 130th will undergo a major resurfacing effort beginning in April, ODOT officials said.
The replacement of the driving surface on Brookpark Road will encompass a 5.2-mile stretch, slicing through busy commercial corridors in the communities of Brooklyn Heights, Cleveland, Parma and Brooklyn. Serving as a vital east-west artery, Brookpark Road’s daily traffic volumes are among some of the highest in the area. That’s part of the reason that three lanes of traffic will be maintained while construction is underway: an eastbound lane, a westbound lane and a center turn lane.
“This is going to be a very busy stretch of road this summer. Work is estimated to begin in early April and completed in the fall of 2024,” said Brent Kovacs of ODOT District 12. “The good news is you’re going to get a new road. It will be awesome when it's done. However, please excuse our dust during construction. We’re going to do our best to maintain access to the businesses during construction.”
To help mitigate the impact on commuters and businesses, Kovacs said the contractor will be completing the two-year project in three phases, although it is unclear which part of the 5.2-mile stretch will be resurfaced first.
The resurfacing of Brookpark Road also comes as a separate project, which includes the resurfacing of Ridge Road and optimization of the traffic signals in the area, is expected to be completed later in the construction season.
Although cities are responsible for the maintenance of the sections of Brookpark Road that fall within their boundaries, ODOT is taking the lead on the large-scale project.
“Everyone knows it needs to be done but there is going to be noise. There is going to be dust. There are going to be traffic delays. By working together and going through this short period of inconvenience, you’re going to get a really beneficial product in the end for everyone that uses that road,” Kovacs said. “Dealing with extra traffic and making sure that folks can still go where they are intending to go, the business that they are trying to reach. We’re going to do our best to keep side streets open, make sure entrances to businesses remain open as much as possible.”
Regular drivers of Brookpark Road between Broadview and State Roads have long lamented the deteriorating roadway, which often spawns new potholes as soon as they are patched. One area of the road in front of the Parma Estates Mobile Home Park, which is technically in Cleveland city limits, is notorious for the number of flat tires and broken hubcaps it causes.
Ray Julbe, the maintenance worker at the park, has to pick up shattered hubcaps, broken front bumpers and mangled exhaust systems from the roadside median at least twice a week.
“We find catalytic converters. We find hubcaps. Honestly, we find anything: phones, batteries, anything that could fall off a truck or a car,” Julbe said. “There’s no telling what you’re gonna find out here in the morning, man. “It gets bad. You can’t keep up with it. We’re right here on the main road. It’s just horrible. These bumps, the cars are jumping around and I guess things stuff falls out of them. I’ve found all types of things out here.”
