MEANDER RESERVOIR Letters aim at getting ODOT to add emergency access to I-80 causeway

Officials say the roads are critical for emergencies on the bridge.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County officials say they have been unable to catch the ear of Gov. Bob Taft for help with a controversial bridge project, so they plan to try to catch his eye instead.
They'll send him letters and are asking residents to do the same thing.
At issue is a change local officials want to see made in plans for a new Interstate 80 causeway over Meander Reservoir. They want the project to include access lanes for emergency vehicles to respond to accidents on the highway and potential chemical spills into the water.
The Ohio Department of Transportation, which is overseeing the project, has resisted despite several requests from local officials to make the change. That's why officials want the governor to intercede.
"They're only going to build that bridge once in our lifetimes, so they might as well do it right," said Walter Duzzny, emergency management agency director.
Commissioner Ed Reese said the change is important because the reservoir provides drinking water for some 300,000 people in the Mahoning Valley.
State's plans
The state's plans for the $41 million causeway call for construction of a 750-foot service road running east from North Turner Road along the causeway's south side. The road will end in a cul-de-sac with a gate to provide emergency vehicles access to the interstate.
Emergency officials are concerned that a major accident could block access to the interstate from the causeway and have asked for access lanes along the causeway's north and south sides.
ODOT has estimated that the lanes could tack up to $2 million onto the cost. The state says it can't add the lanes unless local officials pay for them, but locals say the state should pay.
County Administrator Gary Kubic said traffic surveys have shown that some 49,000 vehicles a day pass over the bridge. Many of them are tankers carrying chemicals or hazardous material, Duzzny said.
"If something happens on that bridge, we need to be able to get people out there to address it fast," he said.
Repeated telephone calls and meetings with ODOT have not resolved the matter, which is why officials are now turning to a letter-writing campaign.
"We need to get their attention," Duzzny said, noting that letters will also be sent to the governor.
Commissioners will also pass a resolution supporting the addition of the emergency access lanes.
bjackson@vindy.com