Rte. 11 lanes to reopen Sunday

The guardrail was damaged and a load of plastic pellets spilled onto the road.

VIENNA — The southbound lanes of state Route 11 near state Route 82 will reopen to traffic Sunday morning.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol at Southington said Friday that the lanes between Route 82 and Tibbetts Wick Road will reopen about 8 a.m.

The stretch was closed to traffic Tuesday morning after a trash container roll-off truck struck the underside of the Niles-Vienna Road overpass.

The two-lane bridge will remain closed for some time as it is repaired.

The boom of the truck struck the overpass, killing its driver, Raymond F. Cross Jr., 45, of Mercer, Pa.

ODOT workers began to demolish the western portion of the bridge Thursday afternoon to replace two beams damaged when struck by the truck.

The temporary repairs will cost about $25,000, according to ODOT. Permanent repairs to the overpass will cost an estimated $250,000.

Meanwhile, the patrol opened Route 11 southbound at state Route 305 Friday afternoon. It was closed to traffic Thursday afternoon after a one-truck accident. The patrol said ODOT replaced about 100 feet of guardrail.

The patrol said the truck was driven by Jiuan Wang, 41, of Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, who suffered minor injuries and refused medical treatment.

The patrol reported that the truck was southbound on Route 11’s exit ramp to state Route 82 eastbound when the truck and trailer overturned while on the ramp.

The guardrail was damaged and a load of plastic pellets spilled onto the road.

At 1:50 a.m. Friday, a semi tractor-trailer hauling eggs eastbound on Interstate 80, just east of the Meander bridge construction site, went off the right side of the road. It hit the guardrail and got stuck in the embankment, spilling 150 gallons of diesel fuel in the process, according to the patrol’s Canfield post.

The diesel spill was contained to a small area. No injuries were reported.

The truck driver hit the embankment so hard he tore off the rig’s front axles, the patrol said. The cargo of eggs remained intact.

A representative from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency arrived on the scene and the wreck closed the eastbound roadway between Bailey Road and state Route 46 eastbound. Motorists for a time had to exit at Bailey, take it south to Mahoning Avenue to state Route 11 then north on 11 to I-80 again, the patrol said.