Not very happy news out of ODOT on projects:

 

http://www.ideastream.org/news/feature/47118

 

ODOT Announces Plans To Solve Financial Problems

 

"It’s not news that the Ohio Department of Transportation is in financial trouble. But when ODOT Director Jerry Wray goes over the numbers, they may not be new, but they can be surprising.

 

WRAY:  “There is a $1.6 billion funding shortfall for construction projects – those are projects that have been vetted through the process, ready to go to construction, and we don’t have enough money to build them. Plus, there’s another $10 billion worth of projects, future projects that are in the development process for which there is no money.”

 

And Wray says that means some of these projects will be delayed years or decades if the situation doesn’t change."

 

Wray also closes the door on any new tax revenue. 

 

Not a Shoreway-specific article, but just another piece that darkens my hopefulness.

 

 

Not surprising.  Meanwhile SR 2 in Lake County gets more lanes and ugly ass sound walls.  All to support a system that will probably collapse under it's own weight of concrete and lack of gas tax revenue.    No wonder we lose our brightest young people to other cities....

http://www.ideastream.org/news/feature/47118

Wray also closes the door on any new (gasoline) tax revenue. 

The right wing ideologues in the legislature who are products of Ohio's gerrymandered districts and uncompetitive primaries will ensure that there is no gasoline tax hike.  They live in this world of delusion that the motoring public should not have to pay for the roads they use.

http://www.ideastream.org/news/feature/47118

Wray also closes the door on any new (gasoline) tax revenue. 

The right wing ideologues in the legislature who are products of Ohio's gerrymandered districts and uncompetitive primaries will ensure that there is no gasoline tax hike.  They live in this world of delusion that the motoring public should not have to pay for the roads they use.

 

Ohio has the 8th highest gas tax, which is higher than Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Delaware, Connecticut, and Maryland, all of which are BLUE states.

Cleveland-area planners to consider sending $27 million to West 73rd Street project

 

The region's top planning body will vote on plowing $27 million into a new West Side link with the lakeshore.

 

The five-county agency could vote as soon as Friday to send federal money to the West 73rd Street underpass, long planned in the Detroit-Shoreway neighborhood. The project would extend West 73rd north as a tunnel under an active rail line. The street would then jog to the east and connect with an existing tunnel under the West Shoreway, leading to Edgewater Park.

 

The project is part of a larger plan to convert the West Shoreway into a tree-lined boulevard. Many commuters are opposed to converting the 50 mph highway into a 35 mph boulevard. That work is still not funded. ODOT announced in 2003 that it would set aside $50 million for the entire project. But costs for the project's first phase – improved pedestrian tunnels and the West 73rd Street underpass – spiraled as engineering problems mounted.

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/06/post_25.html

Ohio has the 8th highest gas tax, which is higher than Pennsylvania, New York, Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Delaware, Connecticut, and Maryland, all of which are BLUE states.

My former state senator Tim Grendell campaigned on lowering the gas tax. 

What do you think Jerry Wray meant?

Ohio may have a comparatively high state gas tax, but it still hasn't kept up with the decline in gas tax revenues from flat/falling vehicle-miles traveled combined with more fuel-efficient vehicles. Meanwhile highway construction costs and materials have risen with rising costs of oil.  So each year ODOT ends up losing the equivalent of 2 cents per gallon of effective gas tax per year.

 

Then there's the federal gas tax which hasn't be raised since 1993, although 2.5 cents/gallon of it was moved from deficit reduction to the highway trust fund in 1998. That's not been enough as the highway trust fund had to be bailed out three times totaling $34.5 million in 2008-10, not including another $62 million in federal stimulus funds from the general treasury (not the highway trust fund) that was spent on highway projects in 2009-12. So that removed a big chunk of the project backlog that was awaiting highway trust fund dollars.

 

We still have a huge backlog of unfunded projects. It will take either a large increase of fees on motorists (be they new gas taxes, new mileage fees, expanded use of tolls, etc.) or a reduction in lane-miles to reduce costs of maintaining the roadway system.

 

Elected officials keep delaying making hard choices while waiting for a transportation tooth fairy to dream up some creative revenue source that won't cost motorists anything new while letting officials cut ribbons for new road projects. Each morning they wake up disappointed. Not only is there no new coin under the pillow, but the pillowcase starts to wear out, next the sheets, next the pillow, then the mattress, then the bed....

 

Gee, if you want something, ya gotta pay for it. If you don't want to pay for it, you get it taken away from you.

Hope the local/regional funding comes through.

 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/trac/TRAC%20List/2013-2016%20Major%20New%20Construction%20Program.pdf

 

Today's TRAC has ODOT stalling on W.73rd project until 2022 :(

They show it here as 2021, just for the W. 73rd connection.  At a cost of $32 million.  By then it will be $132 million.

 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/trac/TRAC%20List/2013-2016%20Major%20New%20Construction%20Program.pdf

Neighborhood update with Councilman Zone offered the following

 

- 76th pedestrian tunnel: remaining work was rebid, bids accepted last week.  Hoping to get contract & work resume by end of July/early August.  Assuming no more unforeseen conditions or major delays, work should be substantially complete this year with touch up done next year

 

- 73rd interchange: design & development work done in 2013, hoping to bid & start the construction in 2014 and be complete in 2016.  Councilman Zone was very shaky on this timeline.  He alluded to some politics at work and how this project could quickly be shifted to the back-burner again if NOACA decides some other projects are higher priority.  I personally don't see this one going forward anytime soon.  Last estimate was $30+ million and by next year it will be over $40 million. 

 

- Old warehouse at 1200 W. 76th: not part of the Shoreway, but plans unveiled to convert this as 39 loft style apartments with first floor parking & retail.  Name of the building: "The Shoreway".  Renderings had lit signage atop the building that would be visible to drivers on shoreway below.  Clever.  Developers pursuing historic tax credit financing so it's a ways off yet, but first look seems very viable.  Overall neighborhood response was enthusiastic.

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/06/post_34.html

 

 

Cleveland's pursuit of West 73rd underpass could delay other road projects

 

.....

 

NOACA said Friday that pots of federal cash for dozens of road and bridge projects can bear a $27 million hit for the West 73rd project, only if Cleveland puts off millions of dollars of improvements on six projects until at least 2016.

 

That includes $5.7 million for work on Triskett Road; $3.8 million for Woodland Road; and $1.8 million for Larchmere Boulevard.

 

An unhappy Robert Brown, Cleveland's planning director, told a NOACA committee Friday that Cleveland does not want to delay those three projects.

 

They are "well advanced" and "ready to go," he said.

 

The city is willing to push back work on Waterloo Road and on bridges near Tower City, he said. And the city could possibly delay replacing an East 79th Street bridge, Brown said......

 

The funding tussle could come to a head July 13, when the NOACA board is scheduled to vote on the underpass project.

 

 

 

Noticed this week (several times) that the equipment that has been sitting in place for months has been moved around. And yesterday there was a large crane in place. Did I miss something? Has there been an immediate release of funds for this?

Noticed this week (several times) that the equipment that has been sitting in place for months has been moved around. And yesterday there was a large crane in place. Did I miss something? Has there been an immediate release of funds for this?

 

the original contractor left the project and it was rebid.  my understanding was that a new contractor was chosen and was supposed to start work this summer, with possible completion by end of year or early next year.

Original contractor was Stevens Contracting.  They did the Lake Ave tunnel & bulk of the work at 76th including the work down in Edgewater Park.  Soil conditions required redesign of the retaining wall foundations.  Result was a massive cost increase ($1.3 million on a job that originally cost just over $2 million).  ODOT opted to rebid the work.  New low bidder was Great Lakes Construction.  They officially started Monday July 9th.  First order of business is driving more sheet pile to stabilize the slope, then massive augered piles with huge rebar cages will be installed for the wall foundations. 

Thanks. I wondered about the crane moved on-site, too.

Awesome - double thanks.

 

So glad this is moving ahead again. I t was very depressing seeing that equipment sit there and weeds grow taller every day.

 

Augured piles and steel is being set in place now for what will become the main headwall to hold back the rail road slope.  Finally some real action taking place this week.

Look for major update tomorrow on the 73rd interchange project at the Shoreway.  Apparently the City obtained their portion of the funding ($12 million) and they are moving forward, planning construction start in spring.

 

Still have to bid the work out.  Should be interesting to see what the actual bids come in versus the budget amount.

I was also told by a friend that Jay Westbrook told him that RTA had secured funding for the Clifton waiting environment upgrades.  There is due to be a public meeting on the status of funding for road reconstruction in October.  Could be some good things happening on the near west side in the next couple years.

I was also told by a friend that Jay Westbrook told him that RTA had secured funding for the Clifton waiting environment upgrades.  There is due to be a public meeting on the status of funding for road reconstruction in October.  Could be some good things happening on the near west side in the next couple years.

 

Old news. They have the funding to proceed......

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,4446.msg631964.html#msg631964

I was also told by a friend that Jay Westbrook told him that RTA had secured funding for the Clifton waiting environment upgrades.  There is due to be a public meeting on the status of funding for road reconstruction in October.  Could be some good things happening on the near west side in the next couple years.

 

Old news. They have the funding to proceed......

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,4446.msg631964.html#msg631964

 

Yes I guess I didn't tie it together--RTA funding is set--the city needs to seek the funding for the actual street and sidewalks, then they can get started.  This, in my mind, is a absolute travesty given the condition of the road and it's status as a major commuter thoroughfare.  It should be repaired no matter what beautification happens.

The funding for the street resurfacing/pavement is included in the $9.5 million, for a project to start in state fiscal year 2014 (SFY starts July 1, 2013).

 

The breakdown of funding sources/amounts for that project AND the West 73rd extension and underpass (to keep this on topic) are both listed on Page 5 at http://www.noaca.org/res2012033.pdf

Same news today on Cleveland.com.  Will be good to see the comments on that story! ;)

 

http://www.cleveland.com/metro/index.ssf/2012/09/odot_promises_12_million_to_la.html

short notice but apparently Governor Kasich is going to be in Battery Park today to announce this 73rd Interchange project with Mayor Jackson, Councilman Zone, etc. 

 

All the local media will be there as well.  11am.  Local wine bar will be open for people to eat/drink afterward.  Feel free to check it out

short notice but apparently Governor Kasich is going to be in Battery Park today to announce this 73rd Interchange project with Mayor Jackson, Councilman Zone, etc. 

 

All the local media will be there as well.  11am.  Local wine bar will be open for people to eat/drink afterward.  Feel free to check it out

 

I'm starting to get the impression that John Kasich appreciates Cleveland a bit more than his predecessor.

Maybe Kasich is surprised we're not all godless welfare queens?

 

Seriously, I noted that construction workers were back at it this morning along the West Shoreway at West 73rd. First time I'd seen anyone working there in weeks (months?) -- though I've been taking the Red Line to the office lately, not the 55. So I may have missed them restarting work in recent days.

^those workers are there for the 76th tunnel project.  Been actively driving piles & caisson tube steel for the last 3 weeks which will serve as the base for the massive retaining walls along the RR tracks.

 

Not sure what the "godless welfare queens" remark means, but it's ironic that the same dignitaries you'll see shaking hands with Kasich on the 6pm news were all cussing him up & down barely a year ago when it was announced this project funding was being pulled...

I give Mayor Jackson and friends (and the Governor) credit for recharging this project.

^ no need to give them credit, they are giving plenty of credit to themselves.  I swung by the presser and they couldnt pat themselves on the back more.  One thing is missing here...what the ACTUAL RESIDENTS of the neighborhood consider.  I live closer to this project than anyone in the city of Cleveland.  My neighbors and I are slightly bent.  I think there are some pros to the project, but in reality, there will be a highway off-ramp in my front yard.  What was suppose to be a component of the boulevard project, is now just an off-ramp that secludes the Battery Park neighborhood from Father Caruso and makes the neighborhood where councilman Zone and the older townhomes a nice, quiet cul-de-sac.  Im not an obsturctionist and I like progress, but 40 mill?  For what?  What about the potholes all up and down 73rd, 65th, 58th, Herman, Tillman, etc.  HOw about some streetscape on Lake Ave between Detroit and CLifton?  No, this is a ploy for the politicians so they can mark down "what they got done".

I gave up trying to follow and understand this project quite some time ago as I am under the impression that the boulevard concept is either being scaled back or dismissed entirely (I really don't know which or whether the project as originally conceived is still a go).

 

So I guess my question is...is this work at West 73rd going to result in an "intersection" (you know...four ways with either a stop signs or a stop light) or simply, (as suggested by Believeland) an on and off ramp to the Shoreway.  Since the word "interchange" is being used I am guessing the later which clearly is not how I first envisioned this project and certainly would not encourage development.

 

The powers that be now simply seem to be touting this as an easier way to get from the Gordon Square neighborhood and surroundings area to the lakefront.

No it won't be an intersection.  It will come from up above in Battery Park, dive down under the RR tracks and connect near the Edgewater on/off ramp.  No interruption of Shoreway traffic whatsoever

No it won't be an intersection.  It will come from up above in Battery Park, dive down under the RR tracks and connect near the Edgewater on/off ramp.  No interruption of Shoreway traffic whatsoever

 

I had no idea--I thought it was the start of an intersection in the making.  Is there an overview of the project anywhere?

go to "Cleveland Lakefront West" and see the latest documents there

No it won't be an intersection.  It will come from up above in Battery Park, dive down under the RR tracks and connect near the Edgewater on/off ramp.  No interruption of Shoreway traffic whatsoever

 

Okay, well, thanks gottaplan and Believeland1 for ruining my rare good mood! I also thought this was the beginning of the boulevard concept - an intersection.

This thing has evolved over time.  I think residents mostly supported it as a component of the boulevard project, but we all know that wont happen.  So essentially it is an off-ramp.  Kasich likes the connection to the lake and actually i agree.  I dont understand why they cant shave about 5-10 mill off the price and JUST make it a street connecting to Edgewater.  Why the off-ramps?  Its no quicker to Gordon Square for people coming from the west...they get off at Lake.  People from the east get off at 49th or else they are backtracking.  This stems from a handshake before there were Battery Park residents, now that there are residents they should have a say,  not just the developers.

It still may not happen.  They have $35 million in place for funding.  What happens when estimates come in at $45 million.  Just because the governor showed up and shook some hands with local officials doesn't mean it's a done deal.  This is still a very big, very complex undertaking, involving massive utility relocations, private property acquisition, railroad closure for the new bridge trestle, massive retaining walls....  if the price ticks up again and Councilman Zone comes out begging for money again, people will really start to question what else that $40 million could do around the area....  especially when other existing infrastructure is falling apart

For $40 million I would think they could redo most of the Shoreway with the median and intersections AND put a pedestrian/bike bridge OVER the tracks for the residents!

For $40 million I would think they could redo most of the Shoreway with the median and intersections AND put a pedestrian/bike bridge OVER the tracks for the residents!

 

You know it's funny.  For as much as we complain about ODOT dollars going to projects that foster sprawl, how do you think the rest of the state looks at a project like this?

 

I just hope they get Clifton resurfaced in March. 

 

 

Not sure what the "godless welfare queens" remark means,

 

Oh how soon we forget what Kasich thinks of cities, especially messy, organic, melting pot, blue-collar Democratic cities like Cleveland. He and many other small-town fundamentalists consider them cesspools of immorality. And it shapes their politics of picking winners and losers.

 

So, back to this road...

 

$40 million doesn't buy you much in terms of road construction anymore. Twenty years ago, you could finish the Jennings Freeway for near that amount. Today, you can't rebuild a short highway like the Shoreway for that. With declining gas tax revenues and the unwillingness of legislators to enact new revenues, roads will be in even worse shape in coming years and some lesser-used roads may even close due to lack of funding.

Between West 65th and West 25th there really is not any reason to slow it down IMO. I would love to see it become street level, and 25 mph once it hits West 25th heading east. It would become a widened Main Avenue, which will go into a lift bridge over to the east bank of the flats. From there traffic would go up Main Avenue through the Warehouse District, and Main Avenue would then connect with Lakeside. The bridge over the tracks, south of the stadium would be removed, and everything from West 3rd to dead mans curve would be converted into a 35 mph boulevard.

The at-grade connections which some people are big fans of is essentially a moot point.  And not because it confounds the west side commuters.  It's a huge cost for very little benefit.  What's the point of having an at grade intersection at 76th & 65th when you already have one at 73rd?  Likewise for 54th & 58th, when 45th is 1.5 mins away, just up Tillman.

 

The whole thing that got this thread stirred back up is the cost of the 73rd interchange.  The railroad tracks here are a huge obstacle which is very expensive to overcome.

The at-grade connections which some people are big fans of is essentially a moot point.  And not because it confounds the west side commuters.  It's a huge cost for very little benefit.  What's the point of having an at grade intersection at 76th & 65th when you already have one at 73rd?  Likewise for 54th & 58th, when 45th is 1.5 mins away, just up Tillman.

 

I respectfully disagree. The Tillman ramp is awful to drive on. The way it's set up to enter Shoreway going west is a disaster trying to merge - and it's not due to traffic; it's because there's a blind curve preceding it! If it was actually used more the result would be a complete bottleneck. 

 

Anyone else notice that ODOT installed exit number signage for the West Shoreway yesterday? Kind of funny for a road that may become a boulevard there are now numbered exits! I think West 45th was exit 194. Not sure how they got the numbering scheme.

 

And with regards to RTA and the 55, it's such a shame what's happened to that route with such service cut backs. I made the mistake of hopping on the 55 at Clifton only to find it exiting the shoreway at West 45th and crawling up Detroit. Consequently I was 20 minutes late for work and will avoid the 55 in the future. The bus seemed emptier than usual. I'm curious how much ridership the 55 has lost now that it can't "express" into downtown?

Aren't exits usually numbered by the mile marker that they exit at?

Public meeting on transportation enhancement options for Clifton.

 

November 8th 6:30 @ Lousia May Alcott school on Baltic. 

Public meeting on transportation enhancement options for Clifton.

 

November 8th 6:30 @ Lousia May Alcott school on Baltic. 

 

Thanks. Can you share a source link for that? It's also worth posting in the Clifton transit enhancements thread in the transit section of this forum.

Public meeting on transportation enhancement options for Clifton.

 

November 8th 6:30 @ Lousia May Alcott school on Baltic. 

 

Thanks. Can you share a source link for that? It's also worth posting in the Clifton transit enhancements thread in the transit section of this forum.

 

I was told this by Anita the Director at Cudell.  I reached her via. the contact link on their website.

 

 

 

 

I had similar information from a friend that spoke with Jay Westbrook but have not seen anything official either online or on paper.

OK, now we're getting too far off-topic. Can we leave it at this:  when the Shoreway-Main Avenue Bridge is due for major repairs or replacement, that ODOT, this region, and Cleveland are going to have a big, difficult to decision to make. We are not yet at that decision point.

 

And let me leave this with two corrections:

 

1. The estimated start-up capital cost for Cleveland-Lorain commuter rail is about $150 million, if I recall correctly. The reason it is so low is because much of the tracks are already there, in excellent condition and are lightly used for freight. Discuss this (include yesterday's big news) at: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,1916.0.html

2. The $25 million figure for Blue Line extension is to reach the southeast side of the Warrensville-Chagrin intersection. To extend the Blue Line 2-3 miles to Harvard-Interstate 271 is another $155 million on top of that. Discuss this at: http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,17886.0.html

 

Now let's return to our regularly scheduled program.......

 

If you want to continue to discuss removing the Shoreway-Main Avenue High Level Bridge, it's probably best to do so at this thread (where all messages on this bridge removal subject were moved).....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,8230.0.html

I had similar information from a friend that spoke with Jay Westbrook but have not seen anything official either online or on paper.

 

It was officially released in the Cudell newsletter on Friday.

 

Clifton Boulevard Public Meeting

 

On Thursday, November 8 at 6:30 PM at Alcott School on Baltic Road, the city of Cleveland, RTA and ODOT will hold discussion on proposed plans for transit enhancements on Clifton Boulevard in Cleveland.  All are invited to share ideas and comment on proposals for enhanced waiting environments, landscaped medians, traffic signalization upgrades and resurfacing options.  Call Councilman Westbrook at 216.664.4230 or Anita at Cudell at 216.228.4383 for further information.

Please post that in the Enhance Clifton transit project thread. Thanks.