Western Reserve Road bridge over Interstate 680 is open now

Staff report

NORTH LIMA

Local businesses are happy to see that Western Reserve Road over Interstate 680 is open again.

Ohio Department of Transportation officials announced the reopening of the Western Reserve Road bridge over I-680 early Monday after crews finished work over the weekend.

The bridge was closed in June, and it was an $8.9 million project to replace the bridge and resurface the highway from U.S. Route 224 to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The project is scheduled to be completed in October.

Frank Warren, a chef at Carmella’s Cafe, within a strip mall at 850 E. Western Reserve Road, said business had been down about 20 percent during the bridge reconstruction.

“Now [Monday we’re] starting to pick up” to previous business levels, Warren said. “We’re glad it’s back open.”

Next door at Ely’s To Go, co-owner Jim Pugh said it was too early to tell how business was impacted by the closure and how the now-open bridge would contribute to business.

“We’re very fortunate that it did not affect our business very much ... and [Monday] was the first day, so we will see,” Pugh said. “I think our customers have yet to find out it’s open, so I’m sure they will find out soon enough.”

There were two digital signs along Interstate 680, before and after the U.S. Route 224 exit, that displayed a message that Western Reserve Road over I-680 is now open.