The current Tier I ranking of projects (meaning they are ODOT-funded for a particular year - see http://www.dot.state.oh.us/trac/PDFfiles/2005-2010Tier1+2.pdf ) shows that I-77 will be widened in 2008 from four to six lanes total from Pleasant Valley Road to State Route 82 in Brecksville for $34.8 million.

 

A second phase, now ranked as a Tier II project (meaning its preliminary planning has received ODOT funding), proposes to extend that widening farther south from SR82 to the Ohio Turnpike. Its cost is projected to be $11.6 million.

Are those costs right?  That is $46.4 million for approx. 6 miles of widening by 2 lanes.That seems remarkably inexpensive, if it's so.

All they're doing is filling in the median. That's even more expensive than the third lane addition to I-90 in western Cuyahoga and eastern Lorain counties, completed in 2002. That was a $22.6 million project, for eight miles of widening (but very few bridges). Yet, the proposed new I-90 interchange in eastern Lorain County is projected to cost up to $10 million.

 

Why the new interchange (Of course, I don't have to tell you why, X!)? Avon’s population is projected to skyrocket from 12,000 residents to at least 40,000 to as much as 70,000 people. Since the region isn't growing, this is economic dislocation, as most of these residents are projected to come from Cuyahoga County in search of status, amenity-laden McMansions, and lots of debt-financed stuff to put in them.

 

On the other hand, a stagnant population spread over a larger area must pay increasingly higher taxes per-capita to maintain an infrastructure built for a developed area that's several times larger than it needs to be.

 

Dear exurbanites and to those aspiring to join them: You can run, but you can't hide. You are only exacerbating premature obsolesence and abandonment of existing communities. You remember how successful that practice was on Cleveland? Now, Cuyahoga County as a whole is at risk. Perhaps 50-100 years into the future, if all other things remain equal, the next ring of counties will fall victim to this outward rolling wave of prosperity that never stays in one community for more than a few decades. Surf's up!

OK, so according to the PDF file, I-77 will be widened from 2 to 3 lanes between SR-82 and Pleasant Valley Road. Additionally, from Pleasant Valley Road to Rockside Road, it will be widened from 3 to 4 lanes. With the new I-77 bridge being built over I-480, that would make I-77 a 3-lane continuous freeway from SR-82 in Brecksville to downtown Cleveland (that is, if ODOT also widens the E. 55th St. exit from 2 to 3 lanes as planned). On top of all of this, there is the future widening of I-77 from SR-82 to I-80 (Turnpike), and the widening of I-77 in Summit County near Fairlawn, Bath, Copley, and Akron. Then, I-77 in Stark County near the Akron-Canton airport, is being widened in some places, upto 4 lanes. Eventually, we should see a minimum of 3 lanes non-stop from Canton to Cleveland. The two big development booms as a result of this will be the immediate vicinity of the Akron-Canton Airport and the I-77/SR-82 interchange in Brecksville/Broadview Hts.

I can see it now..."the new, $300 million innerbelt bridge, due to open in the spring of 2012, will have to wait another decade, due to the fact that the two ends of the bridge fall 3 feet short of coming together...ODOT is considering building a jump, so that fast-moving cars can just hop over the gap, thus preventing the project from further exceeding cost estimates..."

 

Bridge cables are three feet too short

Major gaffe will delay W. 3rd span's opening

Friday, March 10, 2006

James Ewinger

Plain Dealer Reporter

 

The West 3rd Street Bridge slid into place with surgical precision Monday, but significant imprecision will keep it from opening on time.

 

The 64 cables that raise and lower the deck to allow boats to pass underneath are three feet short. Correcting the error will take some time, delaying the reopening of the bridge to vehicle traffic by about three months, an ODOT spokesman said.

 

www.plaindealer.com

OOPS!!!  :bang:

Painfully funny.

From The Sun, 3/9/06:

 

 

I-90 ramps will lead to changes

Thursday, March 09, 2006

By Mary Davies

The Sun

 

AVON - No one is sure what kind of development will sprout at a new Interstate 90 interchange at Nagel Road.

 

Ward 2 Councilman Dennis McBride said he thinks some zoning changes are probable, but don't expect legal brawls between the city and developers, he said.

 

Any land use planner will tell you that there will be rezoning along with an interchange. It's inevitable, said McBride, whose ward includes the proposed I-90/Nagel Road interchange. But we have to make sure we're ahead of the curve so that people aren't suing us and we aren't then just reacting to that.

 

Most of the land north of Interstate 90 is zoned for industrial and office uses, and property between the proposed interchange site and Detroit Road is residential. Some retail stores sit at Detroit and Nagel roads.

 

More at

 

http://www.cleveland.com/sun/sun/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1141926070134200.xml&coll=3

 

If you think this is bad, wait for the Amherst Quarries. Wait until South Amherst and the surrounding area becomes a boomtown. That is going to make this look like peanuts!!!  :yap:

Workers prep Parrish Road for its new railroad overpass

 

Star Beacon

By MARK TODD

Staff Writer

 

[email protected]

 

CONNEAUT -- The preliminaries are nearly done, and now it's time for the main event.

 

Over the past several weeks, workers have prepared a stretch of Parrish Road for a $12.3 million bridge that will lift vehicle traffic over two sets of railroad tracks. Utility poles have been shifted and underground lines have been rerouted.

 

Work is ready to begin on the lengthy bridge that will finally give the city's west side an uninterrupted route to lakefront neighborhoods.

 

Read more at:

http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_092063345

 

Broad Street is the only thoroughfare in Conneaut linking routes 20 and 534 that isn't at the mercy of railroad crossings. Two bridges make that possible.

 

Are we talking about Geneva (see routes above) or Conneaut (Routes 20 and 7)?

Conneaut bridge contract $2 million under budget

 

By MARK TODD

 

Staff Writer

[email protected]

 

CONNEAUT -- A huge bridge that will lift vehicle traffic over two Conneaut railroad crossings will cost nearly $2 million less than expected, the Ohio Department of Transportation confirmed Tuesday.

 

The city is checking to see whether some of the savings can be used to help defray the cost of establishing an alternate truck route into a busy industrial park, officials said.

The Ruhlin Co. of Akron recently was awarded the contract for its low bid of $8.64 million, Paula Putnam, ODOT District 4 spokeswoman, said. Engineers estimated the work would cost $10.3 million, she said.

 

Read more at:

http://www.starbeacon.com/local/local_story_110064046

Streets with multiple names!

 

Let's see how many MAIN ARTERIAL ROADS we can find in the greater Cleveland area that change names through a continuous drive.

 

THE OBVIOUS:

Bagley > W. Pleasant Valley > E. Pleasant Valley > Alexander > Pettibone

Snow > Rockside

Kinsman > Chagrin

Pearl > W. 25th

Cooper Foster Park > N. Ridge > Detroit > Superior (Longest E-W I know, from Amherst to Cleveland Heights)

Lorain > Carnegie

RT17: Brookpark > Granger > Libby

Woodworth > Noble > Warrensville Center

E. 260 > Richmond

Ridge (in Wickliffe) > Bishop > Brainard

W. 150 > Warren

Woodland > Larchmere

E. 185 > Nottingham > Dille > Highland

Buckeye > S. Woodland

W. 210 > Wagar

Columbia > Greath Northern Blvd.

Bradley > Chestnut Ridge

W. 117 > Memphis

RT82: Elyria-Twinsburg > W. Royalton Road > E. Royalton > Chippewa > W. Aurora > E. Aurora > Cannon

RT8: Northfield > Highway 8 > I-77

RT18: E. Washington St. > Medina Rd. > W. Market > E. Market

RT91: SOM Center > Darrow > N. Main > S. Main > Darrow > N. Avenue > S. Avenue > Darrow > Canton > Cleveland NW > Cleveland SW > E. Sparta (Longest N-S, from Lake Erie to south of Canton)

 

THE NOT-SO-OBVIOUS:

Valley Parkway > Barrett > Nobottom

Hauserman > Tiedeman

Mastic > Puritas > Bellaire > W105

Ford Drive > Mayfield

I-90 > I-490 (technically, to continue on I-90, you must exit to the right, whereas I-490 is continuous)

 

There's so many more, who knows them? :)

Euclid Ave changes to Mentor ave for a stretch in the eastern suburbs

Frankfort > Rockwell

Ontario > Broadway

Prospect > W.6th

Huron > W.9th

W. Shoreway > Clifton Blvd. > Lake Rd.

(Possibly) Lorain > Carnegie > Cedar

Bunts > W.140th

Wagar > W.210

Basset > Crocker >  (soon to be) Sterns

Lear > Nagle > Cook

I believe the southern portions of MLK Jr. Drive was once(and some time still) called East Boulevard.

 

E.185th Street - Nottingham - Dille Road - Highland road

 

Ivanhoe-Belvoir

 

Monticello Boulevard - Wilson Mills

 

 

 

MLK-E 116

Columbia > Great Northern Blvd.

 

(Possibly) Lorain > Carnegie > Cedar

 

I wouldn't include these because the roads run parallel to each other. Great Northern splits off from Columbia and Carnegie splits off from Cedar, even though the road splitting off becomes the dominant roadway.

Not in Cleveland (I guess you could call it the hinterlands :)), but this east-to-west road spans part of the north central / northeast areas of Ohio.  If you look at a map, this road is the boundary line between many counties; also, it is the south boundary line of the Firelands / Western Reserve.

 

It starts off on the Crawford-Seneca county line as Crawford-Seneca County Line Road just north of New Washington.

 

Then it straddles the Crawford-Huron county line as Crawford-Huron County Line Road on the southern side of the road, while it takes on the name Baseline Road on the northern (Huron County) side of the road.  The road passes through New Pittsburgh.

 

Then it straddles the Huron-Richland county line as Baseline Road (both counties use that name).  The road passes through Plymouth (called Broadway Street in town).

 

The road then enters Ashland County and becomes County Road 500.  It passes just north of Cinnamon Lake.

 

Next the road enters Medina County as Jeffrey Road.

 

The road continues a little further, straddling the Medina-Wayne county line before ending just northeast of West Salem (not too far from I-71 and the Lodi Outlet Mall).

 

Total length, 42 miles.  And only 1.3 miles of it is a State Route (Rt 103 for 0.7 miles, Rt 511 for 0.3 miles, and Rt 603 for less than 0.1 miles)

 

 

 

 

And yes......today I have a lot of time on my hands!!!!!

Euclid Ave changes to Mentor ave for a stretch in the eastern suburbs

 

This one is kind of a stretch because although the US Highway designation remains, you clearly turn right onto Mentor Avenue.  You could add Vine Street (Willoughby) > Mentor Avenue > Erie Street perhaps and then even extend it to North Ridge Road, perhaps.

Euclid Ave changes to Mentor ave for a stretch in the eastern suburbs

 

^ Yah the US highway designation stays the same but they arent the same. Euclid ave it would seem to more deliberately terminate at the willoughby triangular park, in a sense that Euclid ave begins and ends at a "square" of sorts.

I have traveled on every section of this horseshoe-like road (accept for a little portion near Grafton) but this is honestly one continuous road, 75 miles in length.  We have some strange shaped roads in this state!

I won't bore you all with the intricate details, so here's a picture:

 

Columbia > Great Northern Blvd.

 

This road is also known as East River (or 252) after it hits the Lorain County border.

this has already been mentioned but Kinsman > Chagrin >turns back into Kinsman in Orange I think.

Rt. 303 has 13 names, not counting "State Route 303" - from east to west, Wakeman to Windham, about 75 miles:

 

Townsend Street >

Wakeman LaGrange Richfield Rd >

W Main >

E Main >

(zag for a railroad crossing at the junction with 83, but it's pretty obviously still the same road) Medina Elyria Road >

Center Road >

W Streetsboro Road >

E Streetsboro Road >

Streetsboro Road >

Richfield Hudson Road >

W Center Street >

E Center Street >

Hudson Braceville Road

 

I think it's actually:

 

Kinsman Rd. (Cleveland) > Chagrin Blvd > W/E Orange (Chagrin Falls) > Cleveland St > E Washington St

 

The Kinsman Road in Orange actually is part of the S. Woodland continuum:

 

Buckeye > S Woodland > Kinsman > W/E Center St. (Burton) > Kinsman Rd > W/E High St (Middlefield) > Kinsman Rd > Kinsman Road NW > Ninsman Road NE. 

 

Google Maps even has it losing the Kinsman designation and calls it "State Route 87" just before it runs into S.R. 7 just west of the PA border.  All of which is even more confusing since SR 87 (and SR 8) is routed along Woodland Avenue in Cleveland, which at E. 55th branches off into the Kinsman Road in Cleveland.  Kinsman is SR 8, Woodland SR 87.  But SR 87 ends as a different road, named Kinsman.  Fun.

W. 140 > Bunts

 

how'd i forget that one!

We need to come up with some general agreements as to weather we consider route numbers as the "official route" of the road. Route numbers seem to have some possible plays as to the name the road will get.

 

Rt 20 is Euclid Ave all the way through to Willoughby, Euclid ave ends mentor ave begins as Rt 20. Old maps had this transfer spot at the public square in Willoughby originally, but now (rt 20) it kind of snakes around and meets up where mentor ave and vine street is. Rt 20 continues as mentor ave until it reaches Painesville city. Rt 20 continues onto E/W Erie street in Painesville, and mentor ave dead ends into the square in Painesville. Rt 20 in Painesville Township becomes north ridge road. Rt 20 becomes Main Street in Geneva.... beyond that I don’t bother driving that far.

 

South ridge road (except for a small stretch in Madison its named main st), the parallel road to Rt 20 in lake county , is rt 84.  In Painesville city it gets routed all over the place picking up new names along the way. On its way back out of Painesville rt 84 picks up the name Johnnycake ridge road. While meandering through mentor the old routing of presumably of Johnnycake Ridge Rd branches off named “Old Johnnycake”. Rt 84 continues on through Willoughby, where it then picks up the name of Ridge Rd. In Willoughby hills Rt 84 becomes Bishop Rd. It continues on as Bishop until it reaches Wilson mills rd, Rt 84 then picks up the name Brainard rd.

 

SR 87 through Geauga county is Kinsman

US 422 through Cleveland is Kinsman

There is an old kinsman rd off of SOM in woodmere, that falls in line with Chagrin Blvd.

^^ill let someone else explain that one out

 

Then there is cedar rd. That one is all messed up because it gets all broken up weird (you can see it easily on Google earth). It dies out on chagrin river rd, presumably because they made the park there. It jumps north then re-appears off of county line road, presumably on the other side of the park there. Cedar Rd continues on until it dies out into Sperry rd. Then Cedar Road shows up again to the south, back in alignment with Cedar Rd all the way back in the Heights, but it gets broken up by yet another park area, picks back up again and ultimately dies on Auburn road.

 

What I’m most glad of is that 322 is always Mayfield Rd no matter where I am, except for the part where it become the Chester ave incity-freeway. I am also glad that Fairmont Blvd is always Fairmont Blvd.

 

I only know this shit cause I drive it, any more is rambling.

 

dension>harvard

South of Painesville, the five point of Prouty, Morley, and Pinehill Rd, go SE > Spear Rd > Concord-Hambden Rd > Old State Rd (in Geauga County) > Painesville Warren State Rd (in Trumbull County) > Oh 305 > State Rd. Ends at Oh 45 on the northside of Warren.

 

And in North Central Ohio I did a photo tour of The Old State Road (Flint Rd in Franklin Co, Old State Rd in Delaware Co, Worthington New Haven Rd/US 42/Oh 61 in Morrow Co, Oh 61/Oh 598 in Crawford Co, Oh 598 in Richland & Huron Cos (ending in New Haven @ US 224)

http://www.roadfan.com/oldstrd.html

 

And 322 is also called Cleveland-Meadville Rd (at least in the Commercial Survey Red Books)

There are a lot of turns on this us-hwy route, but Rt.27 runs through the heart of Oxford where Miami University is and its terminus is in Miami, FL.

In Elyria, Lorain Rd. is known as Cleveland St.

How could you forget the southwest suburbs?

 

It is (from South to North) Smith -> W150 -> Warren

 

Edit:

 

Chevy Blvd -> York Rd

Chevrolet Blvd > Stumph > York

 

:-D

dension>harvard

 

I totally missed that one!

Chevrolet Blvd > Stumph > York

 

:-D

 

Damn!!!

 

good catch

In Elyria, Lorain Rd. is known as Cleveland St.

 

And between Elyria and the Cuyahoga County line it's Butternut Ridge Road.

SR 87 through Geauga county is Kinsman

US 422 through Cleveland is Kinsman

There is an old kinsman rd off of SOM in woodmere, that falls in line with Chagrin Blvd.

^^ill let someone else explain that one out

 

 

Yes, this is interesting..  I guess using the absolute loosest definitition of "interesting" possible.  :-)

 

I did not notice that about Cedar road, that is.. ridiculous.  But that and the presence of Old Kinsman sheds light on the existence of Kinsman on a different alignment out east.

 

Chagrin Road east of Richmond picks up the Route 87 designation.  87 runs as Woodland Avenue in Cleveland, then along Buckeye, then Shaker, then turns south on Richmond (175) and joins Chagrin (US 422) at this point.  Of course, Chagrin begins in the west as Kinsman in Cleveland.  SR 87 leaves the Chagrin Blvd. Routing at the traffic circle at Lander Road, and while Chagrin branches southeast, SR 87 continues due east as Pinetree Road.  Pinetree intersects with S Woodland Road and the SR 87 designation goes to S Woodland.  Pinetree intersects SOM Center Road (SR91) and then becomes Old Kinsman Road.  Old Kinsman runs parallel to S. Woodland before terminating at some piddling street.  S. Woodland, as SR 87, winds it's way past the Chagrin River and becomes Kinsman Road (again, sort of) at the County Line.

 

Attached a little route scheme to help illustrate, not to scale of course. 

 

MLK Blvd. used to be Liberty Blvd.

^ MLK used be a lot of different roads, streets and boulevards that were stitched together under one name.

From the 5/4/06 Brunswick Sun Times:

 

Boston paving is planned

Thursday, May 04, 2006

By Melissa Martin

Brunswick Sun Times

 

BRUNSWICK - Plans for an interchange at Boston Road and Interstate 71 might be on hold indefinitely but county officials continue to move forward with plans to widen Boston Road to three lanes from Pearl Road to West 130th Street.

 

And just in case an interchange never comes to fruition even after Boston Road is widened, Medina and Cuyahoga county officials have also agreed to conduct a No Build Alternatives study that would pinpoint measures both counties could take to alleviate traffic along major arteries in Brunswick and Strongsville.

 

During a joint board meeting between Medina and Cuyahoga County commissioners last week, commissioners from both counties unanimously voted to move forward with the preparation of plans and cost estimates for the proposed widening of Boston Road _ a project they say could take up to a decade to complete.

 

Read More...

I had a friend growing up whose family had moved to a development off Boston Road because an I-71 interchange was immanent - and that was in the early 1980's...

Rocky River Drive (Cleveland) becomes Riverside Drive in Lakewood.

 

Also in Lakewood, Franklin Boulevard becomes Hilliard Road.  McKinley Avenue becomes Larchmont.  And Woodward Avenue becomes West 165th Street at the Lakewood/Cleveland border.

 

In the old days, Clark Avenue on the West Side became Pershing Avenue on the East Side (around E. 49th and Broadway).  But the Clark Avenue bridge that used to connect the two no longer exists as such.

 

 

Rockefeller Rd becomes Miner Rd when going from Willoughby Hills to Highland Heights.

In Parma Hts./Parma: Kingsdale Blvd. > N. Church Dr. > Day Dr.

In Cleveland/ Bratenahl: E. 105th > Bratenahl Rd.

From the 5/27/06 Elyria Chronicle Telegram:

 

 

Avon seeking aid for interchange work

Brad Dicken

The Chronicle-Telegram

 

AVON — The city will not use government funds to build a new Interstate 90 interchange, but instead will rely on donations from private companies, grants and loans.

 

Mayor Jim Smith said if the city were to wait for funding from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency to become available, the project wouldn’t be completed until 2014.

 

“We’re growing so fast we can’t afford to wait until 2014,” he said.

 

By paying for the $12 million to $14 million project through other sources, the interchange at Nagel Road could open in the first half of 2009.

 

More at

http://www.chroniclet.com/Daily%20Pages/052706Head1.html

 

As if it wasn't congested enough, ODOT is closing the I-77 South to I-480 E/W ramp and the I-480 East to I-77 North ramp down for 5 months to build a new "bridge deck". I believe this will be used to widen I-77 where it goes from 3 lanes to 2 lanes and back to 3 lanes at the interchange. This bridge would allow 3 continuous lanes to Pleasant Valley Road. When this is completed, they will begin a widening of I-77 from Rockside Road to RT. 82. From Rockside to PV will be widened from 3 to 4 lanes and from PV to RT. 82 will be widened from 2 to 3 lanes. Many are asking why it will cost so much when the majority of the widening will be grass in the median. The answer would be 2 reasons:

 

1) A lot of bridges and underpasses will need replaced, with the biggest task being Pleasant Valley Road, since it's not fit for widening.

 

2) Much of I-77 from Rockside Road to Pleasant Valley is situated on an uneven hill, where the northbound lanes are beneath the southbound lanes. Widening them next to each other is not feasible unless high walls are placed on the sides, so I am guessing that the lanes will be raised/lowered to solve this problem and it will probably be the most expensive task in widening I-77.

Will somebody elaborate on what is going on at I-480 and I-77's interchange. I initially thought I knew what was going on: build a new bridge deck to widen I-77's overpass. However, I am probably wrong. The construction zone in this area is OUT OF CONTROL. From the Tuxedo Lane/Brookpark Road/Jennings 176 exit all the way to the east end of the Valley View bridge, I-480 is totally messed up. Plus, from the east end of the Valley View bridge all the way to I-271, they are now repaving that in a 3-phase. Here's what I have seen so far happening:

 

-I-77 south, the I-480 west exit is closed for 5 months

-I-480 east, the I-77 north exit is closed for 5 months

-I-480 west, the I-77 south exit is shifted to left shoulder lane only

-I-480 west, the I-77 north exit is shifted to left shoulder lane only

-I-480 west thru the I-77 interchange is now only 2 lanes, shifted left beginning all the way back ON the Valley View bridge

-I-480 east thru the I-77 interchange, they are setting up some new equipment

-I-77 and I-480 throughout now have I-480 detours posted for miles in all directions

-The Valley View bridge is completely messed up with all sorts of lane shifts, new speed limit, and new signage everywhere

-I-480 being repaved currently in east from Broadway to I-271, including I-480's split to I-271 and the I-480/I-271 shared segment, plus Warrensville/Northfield exit is being repaved

-I-480 being repaved is beginning now from west at Broadway to Valley View bridge.

-Additionally, the connecting I-271 is being repaved from the 422/480/271 split all the way to Fairmount, local lanes only.

 

MAJOR SLOWDOWNS and nobody knows the masterplan of this 3 year, 30 million dollar project, other than to "rehabilitate I-480"? I can't seem to find any info on the ODOT website about details of this massive project.

Check out the NOACA TIP at http://www.noaca.org/TIP13may05.pdf starting at the bottom of Page 59 and continuing onto the next page.

 

In case you can't open the PDF, the project is actually three projects all in a row, with a total cost of $26.371 million....

 

> $18.7 million reconstruction of 2.5 miles of I-480 from Tuxedo Avenue in Brooklyn Heights east to the Valley View bridge (including the I-77 ramps).

 

> $7.671 million (actually two projects but in overlapping segments) for milling of existing pavement, patching and resurfacing of pavement along 7.18 miles of I-480 from the Valley View bridge east to I-271.

 

No one ever said that roads were cheap -- even for maintaining them!