ODOT asks for input on turn-lane project

The Route 62/Commerce Street intersection will be safer, ODOT said.
HUBBARD -- The Ohio Department of Transportation plans to put offset left- and right-turn lanes on U.S. Route 62 at Interstate 80.
The project will add left-turn restrictions at Route 62 at Commerce Street.
ODOT held a meeting Wednesday at Hubbard City Hall to get public input about the project.
The work will add an offset turn lane to Route 62 southbound, providing access to Truck World Boulevard and to Route 62 northbound, providing access to the Interstate 80 westbound ramp.
A dedicated right-turn lane will be added to Route 62 southbound, also providing access to I-80 westbound ramp.
What's changing
With the left-turn restriction at the Route 62/Commerce Drive intersection, Route 62 southbound traffic will no longer be able to turn left to the Truck World driveway opposite Commerce Drive. The Truck World driveway at this point will also be modified to allow only right-in access for Route 62 northbound traffic entering Truck World.
Moreover, vehicles exiting Truck World at this point will only be able to turn right to Route 62 northbound, ODOT said.
A new traffic signal is proposed to be installed at the Route 62/Flying J access drive, north of Commerce Drive.
Elimination of crossing traffic will make the Route 62/Commerce Street intersection significantly safer for travelers, the state said.
The actual work area is from the I-80 overpass bridges to 1,000 feet north of Commerce Drive, a distance of about four-tenths of a mile. In the project area, Route 62 is primarily an urban/commercial corridor serving the north-south travel needs of southern Trumbull County and also provides access to I-80 for east-west travel.
The project is scheduled to begin in spring 2007 and should be completed by early fall of 2007. The cost of the project is about $545,000.
Comments can still be submitted to ODOT through Tuesday. ODOT can be contacted at (330) 786-4932.