On the road to improvements
Construction will continue on Route 94, start on Route 261
Work on state Route 94 will continue throughout the year and the resurfacing of state Route 261 is expected to begin in July. Photo by EMILY CANNING-DEAN
WADSWORTH – The city will be abuzz with road construction a good portion of the summer, but local officials say they are working with contractors to keep motorists informed and lessen traffic headaches.
Service Director Robert Patrick said the resurfacing of state Route 261 was supposed to begin this month, but said the start date has been delayed.
“They are going to start in the middle or the end of July,” Patrick said, adding that he expects the repaving – which will take place from High Street to Medina Line Road – to be a two month project.
In the meantime, contractors will be doing some marking, catch basin and inlet work on Route 261. Patrick said resurfacing work near the Wadsworth Crossings area of Route 261 would take place at night while work on other portions of the road will take place during day time hours.
ODOT is in charge of the project with the city paying for a portion of the work.
“The road is getting to be past its useful life,” Patrick said. “There has been quite a lot of cracking and we have had to patch potholes near Hartman Road. We have been keeping up with the crack sealing, but when you have a lot of that on the roadway it is a good indication it is time to resurface.”
The state Route 94 widening project will also continue throughout this construction season. This project is also being led by ODOT and Patrick said workers are making good time.
Patrick said workers are finishing up work near the Interstate 76 overpass and said that soon the area will open up with two southbound lanes.
“That will be nice to alleviate some of the congestion,” he said.
Patrick added that workers are also finishing work on the south side of Great Oaks Trail near the Route 94 intersection. Once that is complete, traffic will be rerouted so workers can begin on the north side of the road. Great Oaks Trail will eventually align with Smokerise Drive which is expected to improve traffic flow at the intersection.
Patrick said he thinks the situation has been better than expected in this area.
“We haven’t heard many concerns from the residents and businesses,” he said. “I think they have done a good job with signage and with notifying people what is going on. Also, I think people in the area have found different routes for when they don’t need to get to one of the businesses in that immediate area. We do want to make sure people are still supporting those businesses, but it seems to be going fairly well.”
If weather continues to cooperate, Patrick said he expects the main portion of the project will be completed this year.
“There will be some punch list items the contractor will have to do next year – some final grading. But the majority should be done this year unless we get some bad weather,” he said.
Service Director Robert Patrick said the resurfacing of state Route 261 was supposed to begin this month, but said the start date has been delayed.
“They are going to start in the middle or the end of July,” Patrick said, adding that he expects the repaving – which will take place from High Street to Medina Line Road – to be a two month project.
In the meantime, contractors will be doing some marking, catch basin and inlet work on Route 261. Patrick said resurfacing work near the Wadsworth Crossings area of Route 261 would take place at night while work on other portions of the road will take place during day time hours.
ODOT is in charge of the project with the city paying for a portion of the work.
“The road is getting to be past its useful life,” Patrick said. “There has been quite a lot of cracking and we have had to patch potholes near Hartman Road. We have been keeping up with the crack sealing, but when you have a lot of that on the roadway it is a good indication it is time to resurface.”
The state Route 94 widening project will also continue throughout this construction season. This project is also being led by ODOT and Patrick said workers are making good time.
Patrick said workers are finishing up work near the Interstate 76 overpass and said that soon the area will open up with two southbound lanes.
“That will be nice to alleviate some of the congestion,” he said.
Patrick added that workers are also finishing work on the south side of Great Oaks Trail near the Route 94 intersection. Once that is complete, traffic will be rerouted so workers can begin on the north side of the road. Great Oaks Trail will eventually align with Smokerise Drive which is expected to improve traffic flow at the intersection.
Patrick said he thinks the situation has been better than expected in this area.
“We haven’t heard many concerns from the residents and businesses,” he said. “I think they have done a good job with signage and with notifying people what is going on. Also, I think people in the area have found different routes for when they don’t need to get to one of the businesses in that immediate area. We do want to make sure people are still supporting those businesses, but it seems to be going fairly well.”
If weather continues to cooperate, Patrick said he expects the main portion of the project will be completed this year.
“There will be some punch list items the contractor will have to do next year – some final grading. But the majority should be done this year unless we get some bad weather,” he said.