Western Reserve bridge over I-680 to close for 75 days

By JORDYN GRZELEWSKI

jgrzelewski@vindy.com

NORTH LIMA

Valley motorists soon will have another road construction project around which to navigate.

Starting in mid-June, the Western Reserve Road bridge over Interstate 680 will close for 75 days.

The Ohio Department of Transportation is getting ready to replace and widen the bridge; some lane restrictions already are in place.

The $9.7 million project began last year with resurfacing work on I-680 from U.S. Route 224 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and started this season with some lane restrictions on I-680 under Western

Reserve. The construction cost is $8.9 million.

Western Reserve Road over I-680 will be reduced to one lane in each direction starting Monday.

“What we’re doing right now is getting ready for the bridge replacement. They’re doing some utility work, which is why there are lane restrictions over the next few weeks,” said Justin Chesnic, ODOT District 4 spokesman.

Exit and entrance ramps at the interchange will remain open.

During the bridge closure, motorists in the area will be diverted to a detour: state Route 7 to state Route 626 to state Route 164.

The replacement, Chesnic said, is out of necessity.

“You replace a bridge when it reaches the end of its useful life, and we’re widening it to improve traffic flow,” he said.

Traffic in that area is heavy, Chesnic said. The average traffic count over the bridge each day is 21,800 vehicles.

Business owners in the area say that though they aren’t sure yet what to expect, they don’t think the project will hinder business.

“Most of the time customers come from around Boardman ... and South Avenue is open so I don’t think it’s going to affect us,” said Ely Pugh, who with her husband owns Ely’s To Go, a vegan and vegetarian restaurant at 850 E. Western Reserve Road.

“It’s hard to tell. We don’t know what to expect,” she said. “Summer months are really busy for us, and we’re really big with farm-to-table. So maybe, hopefully, good food will bring them in.”

Ray Morelli, who with his brother owns Morelli Upholstery at 9124 South Ave. behind Dunkin’ Donuts, says construction shouldn’t affect them because customers can still access the store from the west and by cutting down Walker Mill Road and other side streets onto South Avenue if they’re coming from the other side.

“We do custom work. We don’t have a lot of walk-in type stuff like the mall. Most of the people have predetermined what they’re going to do,” he said. “It’s going to be an inconvenience, but I don’t think it’s going to be devastating for us.”

The project, which is set to be complete in October, is one of 13 active or upcoming ODOT District 4 projects in Mahoning County this year, totaling $146 million in construction costs.

Among the large projects, ODOT will begin a three-year, $108 million project on Interstate 80 in Austintown, Weathersfield and Liberty townships and Girard next month that includes replacing and widening lanes between state Route 46 and state Route 193, and six bridges on I-80.

ODOT District 4 also will begin to replace and widen the state Route 164 bridge over I-680 later this year at a total estimated cost of $5.3 million.