Phase work to begin on Route 42 project
Road widening to begin after March 1
Preliminary continues on North Court Street/Pearl Road as part of a two-year road widening project. Photo by ALLISON WOOD

MEDINA – As crews finish up installing water and sewer lines and moving utilities on state Route 42 in Medina and Medina Township, preparations are being made to start the widening of the roadway.

City Engineer Pat Patton updated city council on the project’s progress during a Streets and Sidewalks Committee Feb. 13. Preliminary work on lines is set to be completed around March 1, with phase work and lane closures to begin a short time later.

Due to issues with Frontier being behind in moving utility lines, the Ohio Department of Transportation, which is completing the project, has decided to work on the area north of Reagan Parkway to just south of Fenn Road in Medina Township in 2017, and workers will do the area south of Reagan Parkway in 2018, Patton said.

“In retrospect, I think this is better,” Patton said.

One of the first closings will be the left turn lane into the Kmart plaza, which Patton said will last about six weeks.

He wanted to update council, as his office has received a lot of phone calls from businesses in the area.

There will be a public meeting with ODOT officials Tuesday, Feb. 28 from 4 to 6 p.m. at Medina Fire Station No. 1 on West Reagan Parkway.

The project is part of a larger $17 million project that will widen the roadway from south of Harding Street to just north of Fenn Road in Medina Township, which is about 1.4 miles in length. This will include installing two through lanes in each direction with left turn lanes at side road intersections. The project is scheduled to be completed in October 2018.

A center median in the Medina city limits with LED lighting, a 10-foot sidewalk on the west side of the road and 5 feet on the east side will also be part of the project, according to ODOT engineers. Storm sewers and traffic signals will also be replaced along the length of the construction area.

On Feb. 14, some entrances to businesses north of Reagan Parkway, including the main entrance to the Kmart Plaza, were closed as work continued on line installation.

In addition, Patton said a culvert just south of Reagan Parkway is being replaced, causing some lane closures. Night work is also ongoing in the areas of the intersections of Highland Court, Harding Street and Reagan Parkway.

Patton said he was also forwarded by ODOT some preliminary drawing for street lights to be installed in the median, a drawing council members and other city leaders thought was ugly.

The installation of the lights and median are being funded by the city as ODOT considered them non-necessary improvements. There will be 76 new streetlights installed in the city limits alone, he said.

Also at the meeting, Patton briefly discussed other city road projects for the season, including a bridge replacement on Guilford Boulevard that will be completed during the summer; and a culvert replacement on N. Harmony Street.

He also urged councilmembers to use road grant monies allocated to the city towards replacing the brick roadway on South Broadway Street, which keeps deteriorating.

Councilman Bill Lamb recalled that voters in the 1980s chose to keep the street brick via a referendum, but Patton and Service Director Nino Piccoli said current residents seem to just want the road repaired.