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Confusion reigns over bridge closing date
CANFIELD
With initial confusion over when the bridge carrying state Route 46 and U.S. Route 62 over the Ohio Turnpike would close for repairs, the school district’s transportation director said he knows how he’ll detour the school buses.
The barricades were placed Monday evening.
“The plan is to go down through the residential section” of the city of Canfield west of Routes 46 and 62 and south of the bridge, said Rich Hammond, Canfield schools transportation director.
“That’s really the only way we have to get around it” without a long detour, he said.
Sawmill Run Drive will carry a considerable amount of detouring traffic, he predicted.
Sawmill is the shortest of several available detours from Routes 46 and 62 through that residential neighborhood, which would bypass the closed bridge and emerge onto Herbert Road.
Other available detours outside of that neighborhood would use Raccoon Road to the east, or Turner and Palmyra roads to the west, to go between Shields or Herbert roads and U.S. Route 224.
The turnpike announced Friday that the bridge would close Monday, but, as of Monday afternoon, the bridge was still open, despite posted signs saying it would close for 21 days.
The combined U.S. and state route carries about 9,800 vehicles daily near the bridge at the northern Canfield city limit, according to Justin Chesnic, Ohio Department of Transportation public information officer.
Three different bridge closing dates had been reported.
On April 21, the Mahoning County commissioners voted to close the bridge May 23.
A Friday ODOT traffic advisory said the bridge would close May 16; but Brian Newbacher, turnpike public information officer, said it would close Monday.
The contractor is not permitted to close more than one Mahoning County bridge over the turnpike at a time, Newbacher said.