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Route 11 work nears completion
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.A crossover condition has been implemented on state Route 11 over the Ohio Turnpike. This work is part of a $1.9 million project to raise and re-deck the bridge on state Route 11 northbound over the turnpike. The project is on schedule to be finished by late October.
By Ashley Luthern
CANFIELD
Motorists who travel state Route 11 should notice fewer orange barrels by the end of next month.
Construction has limited lanes on Route 11 near the U.S. 224 Canfield and Boardman exits since the summer of 2009, but the project of replacing a bridge over Indian Run is on schedule to be completed by the end of October, said Justin Chesnic, spokesman for Ohio Department of Transportation District 4.
The lane restrictions come up quickly and sometimes don’t leave a lot of room to merge, said Andy Bell of Canfield, who drives on the highway occasionally.
“It’s aggravating, and it’s a safety concern. If you don’t travel that way often, you could find yourself in a pickle real quick,” Bell said.
Chesnic said ODOT places a high priority on safety when planning construction.
“We checked everything on that merge point and that there’s enough area for people to look over their shoulder and sight-distance vehicles,” he said. “We make sure it’s a safe entry point,”
The project cost $1.8 million for the bridge-deck replacement and painting of the state Route 11 twin bridges over Indian Run, said Kristen Erickson, ODOT District 4 public information specialist, in an email.
ODOT’s work on Route 11 in Canfield Township — where the highway crosses over the Ohio Turnpike — also should be completed by the end of next month. It began this spring.
The cost of that project is about $1.9 million and includes raising and re-decking the bridge on Route 11 northbound over the turnpike.
Although she said she is glad the Route 11 projects are almost complete, Sister Ann McManamon said the construction was not too disruptive to her daily travel.
“It’s been reasonable,” said McManamon, who usually travels on Interstate 680 and the takes Route 11 to get to Canfield.
Three projects, one in Mahoning County and two in Trumbull County, will carry over into 2011 as scheduled, Chesnic said.
In Mahoning County, work on state Route 193 and U.S. Route 422 in Youngstown will stop temporarily at the end of October and resume in the spring of 2011. The project is scheduled for completion in August 2011.
“All of the bridge work is done. ... And 90 percent of the work is done,” Chesnic said.
The $10.6 million project included the rehabilitation of four bridges: state Route 193 over Crescent Street, Route 193 over Rayen Avenue and the railroad, and both bridges at the Route 193 and U.S. Route 422 interchange.
In Trumbull County, the paving and bridge repairs on Interstate 80 from state Route 11 to Shady Road are not set to be completed until 2012. The cost of that project is about $20 million.
“Over the winter, that is not even going to look like a construction zone,” Chesnic said.
A two-year, $13 million paving, bridge and ramp replacement project in the county, involving Route 11 and state Route 82, should be completed by the end of fall 2011.