ODOT plans changes to 5-leg intersection in North Lima

By Denise Dick

NORTH LIMA — Alleviating traffic congestion is the main aim of a project to reroute a portion of Woodworth Road, or state Route 626.

“Where Route 626 comes into Western Reserve Road and state Route 7, we’re proposing to cul-de-sac that off,” said Justin Chesnic, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 4.

The three routes intersect where Boardman and Beaver townships meet.

Woodworth Road — Route 626 — will be rerouted south about 500 feet through a vacant lot and then intersect with Market Street farther south.

“It’s mainly to reduce congestion to cut a five-leg intersection into a four-leg intersection,” Chesnic said.

Jan Phillabaum, manager of The Nail Garden, a nail salon on Woodworth, was surprised to learn of the project from people living in the neighborhood. She said it’s not a high-problem intersection.

“The only problem we see is with the trucks trying to turn from Market Street on to Western Reserve Road,” Phillabaum said. “They’re told at the turnpike, ‘At the first light, make a right.’ They turn at Woodworth. They don’t go through the light.”

A 21-year Woodworth resident who didn’t want her name used said she doesn’t understand why ODOT is doing the project.

“There are no accidents there,” the woman said. “With five lights, it’s really no longer than a lot of other lights.”

She learned of the project when she saw surveyors near her home a couple of months ago. She asked what they were doing, and the workers told her of the plan. The woman worries that the planned reroute will be near her driveway, but she’s also concerned about how the change will affect nearby small businesses such as The Nail Garden.

“It’s going to totally cut them off,” the woman said.

Tim Larsen, owner of R T Tire Plating, a Woodworth tire store, is reserving his opinion on the project until he knows more about it.

“At first, I wasn’t very excited about it,” he said. “It’s going to be a pain for my customers coming from Youngstown. They’ll see the dead end and have to try to figure out a way to get to my place.”

His advertisement in the telephone book includes a map, so he’ll have to change that. He’ll also have to change the doors and signage so that they’ll be visible from the new section of Route 626.

But maybe the change will provide new opportunities, Larsen said.

The intersection does pose difficulty for trucks trying to turn onto Woodworth either traveling north on Market or west on Western Reserve, Larsen said.

The project is estimated at $2.6 million with construction comprising about $2 million of the cost, and right-of-way acquisition and preliminary engineering making up the remaining $600,000.

ODOT expects to award the contract in January 2011 with work to begin that spring. The project should take about two years to complete, Chesnic said.

The change won’t limit access to businesses on Woodworth.

“They’ll still have access on Route 7 and on Western Reserve,” Chesnic said.

A public meeting on the planned project will be scheduled and announced later this year.

Larry Wehr, a Beaver Township trustee, said the intersection hasn’t posed problems for the township.

“It’s more of an issue with traffic at that intersection,” he said.

Motorists traveling on either Market or Western Reserve must wait longer for those turning from or to Woodworth.

Police Chief Carl Frost said police don’t regard the intersection as a problem spot.

“It is congested, but I think it flows pretty well,” the chief said.

The township is more concerned with the other end of Route 626.

That’s one of the areas proposed for a ramp off of Interstate 680 between Western Reserve and the Ohio Turnpike.

Western Reserve is the last exit off of I-680 southbound before the turnpike, so motorists traveling to southern Mahoning or Columbiana County must get off there.

“It [a new ramp] would get rid of a lot of that traffic and continue it on 680,” Wehr said.

Chesnic said that project is being studied but it’s in the preliminary stages.

For now, ODOT plans a new right-turn lane along westbound Western Reserve Road to the northbound I-680 entrance ramp in Boardman to improve traffic flow.

This construction will begin this summer. During construction, a minimum of one lane of traffic will be maintained on the westbound approach to the Western Reserve Road / I-680 interchange.

The $44,000 project is expected to be completed within one construction season.

denise_dick@vindy.com