$20M improvement project to close I-80 entrance at Belmont

By Denise Dick

LIBERTY — Mosier Road resident Fred Callihan won’t be too inconvenienced by a planned closing of his road as part of a state project, but his neighbors may.

“Mosier is a well-traveled road,” said Callihan, who has lived there 30 years.

Ohio Department of Transportation District 4 plans to improve Interstate 80, rehabilitating five bridges and extending the entrance ramp from state Route 193 along the interstate. It will require Mosier to be closed for about 90 days and closing of the westbound entrance ramp from Route 193 [Belmont Avenue] to I-80 for about 180 days.

“I seldom go that way,” Callihan said.

Others who do, though, will have to redirect their route a couple of miles out of the way, he said. Possible alternatives include up Liberty Street, down Belmont Avenue and down Trumbull Hill or up U.S. Route 422 to Trumbull Hill, Callihan said.

At $20 million, the project has the highest pricetag of any planned for 2010 in District 4, which includes Mahoning, Trumbull, Ashtabula, Stark, Summit and Portage counties.

The bridges to be rehabilitated are the twin bridges over both U.S. 422 and state Route 193 and the bridge over Mosier, said Paula Putnam, ODOT District 4 spokeswoman.

An open house about the project is set for 5 to 7 p.m. July 23 at the township administration building, Churchill-Hubbard Road.

The entrance ramp will be extended from Route 193 about 110 feet east of the center line of Liberty Street. The bridges will be widened, the decks replaced and the bridges painted.

Putnam said that ODOT discovered, as it planned to rehabilitate the bridges, that the entrance ramp doesn’t meet current standards. It’s neither wide enough nor long enough, she said.

Detours for the project haven’t been determined.

Jodi Stoyak, a Liberty Township trustee, said the project will be an inconvenience for many motorists. She and Administrator Pat Ungaro met several months ago with officials from Giant Eagle headquarters in Pittsburgh about the project.

The Giant Eagle store in Churchill Commons, Belmont Avenue, is near the project area.

“They are going to have redirecting signs to let people know the best way to get to the store with the detours,” Stoyak said.

They hope the signs will help ensure that Giant Eagle’s business won’t be hurt during the work.

Erik Yorke, a Giant Eagle spokesman, said store representatives have met with ODOT, and one lane will be maintained in each direction near the store through the duration of the project.

The township also asked ODOT to plant ivy under the I-80 bridge that goes over Belmont.

“It looks so ugly now, and it’s our main entrance to the community and our main beautification area,” Stoyak said.

ODOT agreed, she said.

The aim of next week’s meeting is to present and discuss the project, but there will be no formal presentation. Residents, business people and other members of the public will be able to offer comment about the planned project.

For those who can’t make the meeting, written comments may be submitted by Aug. 7 to Eric Czetli, District 4 Deputy Director, Attn: Jack Noble, District 4 Planing and Programs Administrator, ODOT, 2088 S. Arlington Road, Akron, Ohio 44306-4243.

denise_dick@vindy.com