No more whomp, whomp, whomp: Route 11 repaving smooths journey

Rte. 11 work lets travelers take smoother trip north

By Denise Dick

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

VIENNA — The sound of tires flapping as you travel along state Route 11 on the way to a Lake Erie summer weekend will soon be a distant memory.

Work continues on an $8.8 million project to resurface Route 11 from King Graves Road to south of state Route 5 through Johnston and Fowler townships in Trumbull County.

Work started last March and is slated to be done in October.

Shelly and Sands of Zanesville is the contractor.

Barry Mazarik has been traveling that route between his Cortland home and a campground in Ashtabula County for about 15 years.

“Between about 10 years ago and now, it’s a lot better now, I believe,” he said.

That section of Route 11 is a main path of travel for Mahoning Valley residents heading to Lake Erie, Ashtabula or Pymatuning State Park for a summer Saturday at the beach, a weekend in a lakeside cottage or an evening at a winery.

The road was spotty with potholes and uneven surfaces, giving travelers a bumpy ride.

“You know that sound you hear like your tires are flapping?” Mazarik said. “You used to hear that.”

He spends many weekends throughout the summer at the campground, so he’s a frequent traveler over that portion of road and says the resurfacing provides a smoother trip.

“That whomp, whomp, whomp sound — you don’t really hear that anymore,” Mazarik said.

The project includes signing and guardrail improvements and bridge work to the Route 11 twin bridges over Big Run and on Fowler Ridge and Everett Cortland Hull roads, both over Route 11.

It’s been a long time coming.

“It’s been about 10 years” since that portion of road was resurfaced, said Paula Putnam, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Transportation District 4.

At least one lane of traffic has and will continue to be maintained in each direction through the project although it required short-term closures of both Fowler Ridge and Everett Cortland Hull roads at Route 11 for bridge deck overlays.

Last year, the agency completed a section of Route 11 in Ashtabula city and township and Plymouth Township, all in Ashtabula County.

That $1.9 million preventive maintenance project involved resurfacing of Route 11 from state Route 46 to state Route 531. It started in spring 2008 and wrapped up last August.

Andy Frost Jr. of Austintown travels along the Trumbull County portion of Route 11 to Pymatuning State Park throughout the summer to enjoy his sailboat on the reservoir.

“It was a pretty rough ride,” he said.

There were several ruts and holes peppered along the trip.

“I was just up there last weekend and it wasn’t done, but the part that was finished was nice and smooth,” said Frost, who is also Austintown’s fire chief.

denise_dick@vindy.com