Vital I-680 project merits expeditious completion

In recent decades, population and development have witnessed noticeable growth in the southeastern quadrant of Mahoning County. Like any growth, the spurt of new housing and businesses in Beaver Township and environs was bound to leave its mark on infrastructure.

One such mark can be witnessed on a daily basis when traffic bottlenecks make navigating the Western Reserve Road interchange off Interstate 680 a frustrating and time-wasting nuisance.

That’s why we were pleased earlier this week to hear news that plans to help alleviate those unsafe and anguishing traffic nightmares have gotten the green light from state officials.

State Rep. John Boccieri of New Middletown, D-59th, announced that funding has been approved for construction of a new interchange to provide more convenient access to state Route 164 from I-680 in Beaver Township.

The additional exit will provide an alternative for southbound I-680 rush-hour drivers who now must crowd the Western Reserve Road ramp, often clogging stalled traffic onto the interstate itself, creating a major safety hazard.

The $6.1 million project also will include construction of a new roundabout to smooth traffic flow at Routes 164 and 626 and replacement of the aging bridge carrying Route 164 over the Ohio Turnpike with a wider and stronger span.

SAFETY CONCERNS DRIVE PROJECT

Clearly, from a safety perspective, the spending of significant tax dollars for the project easily can be justified.

“I travel this route often, and there is significant danger to motorists” when backups occur, Boccieri said. He also has noted that the Western Reserve interchange has been the site of at least 11 accidents in recent years.

Comprehensive safety studies by the Ohio Department of Transportation further validate the legislator’s concerns and the crying need for the project.

For those reasons alone, we commend Boccieri for his efforts to persuade ODOT officials to put the interchange- addition project on a faster track. Actual construction is not scheduled to begin until 2018 with completion expected by late 2019.

Given the tight schedule of ODOT and its long list of ongoing projects – including the $189.1 million in work on roads and bridges in Mahoning and Trumbull counties this construction season alone – we’d be pleased if ODOT works assiduously to ensure the new interchange project stays on schedule, a schedule that ODOT already had moved up by one year.

In addition to the safety concerns, the new interchange also will strengthen the 40-year-old intestate’s assets to Youngstown and all suburban communities in its path.

The ease of access that I-680 provides between those communities and the convenient link it provides to travelers motoring between Cleveland and Pittsburgh make the new interchange a vital investment in an optimal surface- transportation network for the Mahoning Valley for years and decades to come.SFlb