ELYRIA — The pains of traveling the pothole-marred thoroughfare known as West River Road North soon will be a thing of the past.
But motorists first will have to get through this year, when the more than $4.3 million improvement project gets under way. It will be the biggest project the city undertakes this year.
In 2009, the city made a quick fix of the road by placing a 1-inch overlay on the road from Stoney Brook to the city limit for about $40,000. The temporary fix was done while the city applied for funding through the Northeast Ohio Area Coordinating Agency.
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City Engineer Mukund Moghe said the particulars of the project and several others will be explained Thursday at an Engineering Department open house. Moghe said there will be so many projects this year that holding a meeting for residents seemed like a good idea. Most will be water main and sewer projects, but there will be quite a few road projects.
The city plans to begin construction on 18 projects this year and three next year. The estimated cost for this year’s projects is about $23.45 million.
In addition to West River Road North, the city plans to resurface Gulf Road from Cleveland Street to Hilliard Road and Abbe Road North from state Route 57 to Loyola Drive. The Ohio Department of Transportation is handling the Abbe Road North project.
City Council on Monday approved the streets that will be resurfaced under the 2011 street resurfacing program. The list includes one street from each ward that was ranked as being in desperate need of repair.
But for some, those streets are not enough.
Councilman Larry Tanner, D-1st Ward, said he would like more streets to be done in more wards, and he said he believes that is what residents want to see, too.
“I probably have at least five streets in my ward that really need it,” he said. “But I at least know the Eastern Heights area is having their water main replaced this summer and they will have some resurfacing work in the project. I guess you can say I got lucky this year.”
Moghe said he will touch on projects that will be completed by other agencies such as the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Turnpike.
Information boards will be displayed detailing the plans, costs and timetable of each project and there will be a question-and-answer period.
Elyria road projects
The Elyria Engineering Department will hold a public meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday to discuss upcoming projects. Residents are encouraged to attend to hear about how each project will affect travel. The meeting will be in City Council Chambers in City Hall, 131 Court St.
Street improvement projects
- West River Road North
- Brooklyn Street
- Gulf Road
- Abbe Road North
Sewer projects
- Cascade siphon removal and bottleneck elimination project
- Turner Street area project
- Overbrook Road area project
- Pinewood Drive area project
- Mussey Avenue area project
- Sewer extension projects
- Various wastewater pollution control plant projects
Water main projects
- Middle Avenue from 16th Street to Second Street
- West side
- Furnace Street area
- South side
- Eastern Heights area
- St. Jude area
Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.
