Latest I-80 bridge proposal addresses safety concerns

Local officials remain concerned about access for emergency vehicles.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;By IAN HILL & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
AUSTINTOWN -- State officials have unveiled their second proposal to replace the Interstate 80 bridges over Meander Reservoir.
The new proposal, discussed at a meeting with local officials Monday, calls for the Ohio Department of Transportation to build two three-lane bridges across the reservoir for $68 million. They would replace two two-lane bridges.
Local officials had criticized ODOT's first proposal, which had called for the construction of a causeway, because it did not include access lanes for emergency vehicles. The causeway proposal was scrapped earlier this year after ODOT determined it would cost nearly $100 million.
The new ODOT proposal also does not include emergency access lanes. It does, however, call for the construction of a staging area for emergency vehicles at the west end of the bridges.
Crossovers
ODOT spokeswoman Jennifer Richmond added that the state may maintain a traffic crossover at each end of the bridge to address safety concerns. If there were an accident on one of the bridges, emergency officials could use the crossover to divert traffic to the other bridge.
Local officials are worried that a major accident could block access to the bridge and delay efforts to clean up chemical spills in the reservoir, which serves as the water supply for about 300,000 people.
The new proposal also calls for the construction of a chemical spill containment system along the sides of each bridge.
Reaction
Walter Duzzny, the director of the Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency, said he felt the new proposal showed that ODOT was responding to the concerns of local officials.
Duzzny noted, however, that he was still worried that the new bridges would not have adequate access for emergency vehicles.
"I'm not happy with no access road, that's for sure," added Austintown Fire Chief Andrew Frost. "We want to try and make it as safe as we can for the people on the interstate."
Frost said he will be checking the area around the proposed site of the new bridge to determine how better access can be provided for emergency vehicles.
Message boards
Richmond also noted that ODOT will be responding to several questions posed by local officials at Monday's meeting, including one about installing electronic message boards at each end of the bridge.
ODOT has noted that the current bridges do not meet state bridge standards and need to be replaced. The bridges were built in 1969.
The new bridges would be paid for with federal money. Richmond said work on them could begin in 2008.
& lt;a href=mailto:hill@vindy.com & gt;hill@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;