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All clear at Western Reserve Road near I-680 on first day of bridge closure
NORTH LIMA
Normally bustling with motorists driving home from work at that time, Western Reserve Road over Interstate 680 was all but deserted about 5:45 p.m. Monday.
Hours earlier, the 75-day closure of the bridge over 680 began.
The closure is for an $8.9 million replacement and widening project that also will add a westbound right-turn lane on Western Reserve at the 680-northbound entrance ramp. Exit and entrance ramps at the interchange will remain open.
The first day of the closure went smoothly, said Justin Chesnic, District 4 spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
“I did not get any calls or complaints,” he said. “In my opinion, no news is good news. If it was a bad day, I would have gotten some calls.”
The detour ODOT recommends takes motorists from state Route 7 (Market Street) to state Route 626 to state Route 164.
Despite what seemed to be a decrease in vehicle traffic over the bridge, which has an average daily traffic count of 21,800 vehicles, one local restaurant had plenty of traffic through its business.
“We had a really nice lunch today,” said Laura Ahlswede, whose family owns Carmella’s Cafe, located at 850 E. Western Reserve Road.
“We were pleasantly surprised today. I honestly did not expect to see the numbers we saw today. So I hope it continues.”
Ahlswede, whose grandmother is Carmella, said the business is prepared for the bridge closure just outside their windows.
“We’re planning on doing specials to get people in here, to boost advertising, to boost whatever we have to do to remind people that even though the bridge is closed, we’re not,” she said.
Dinner customers also began to trickle in about 5:30 p.m. Ahlswede said some customers who live on the other side of the bridge have called to assure her that they’ll still be in for the traditional Italian cuisine.
“We’re very lucky to have such loyal, wonderful clientele,” she said, adding she hopes the promise of dishes such as homemade lasagna are enough of a draw for customers who might have to take a detour to get there.
So far, so good, she said, “but come talk to me in a week.”
Also clear during rush hour was U.S. Route 224 over 680, which is where some employees at businesses near the Western Reserve Road project said they would begin traveling via South Avenue to get onto 680 to get home.
Earlier Monday, however, some parts of 224 were jammed with traffic, which could have something to do with the bridge project, Chesnic said.
“It could be because people are going to find other ways around,” he said.
Although it’s not an issue yet, he said, ODOT sometimes takes measures such as changing the timing of traffic signals to get traffic flowing in areas affected by a project. That type of step would be taken if county and local governments identify an issue and bring it up to ODOT, he said.
“If it gets to a point where it’s an issue ... we would obviously look into it,” he said. “The first week is usually the worst. So I guess we’ll see how this week goes.”