ELYRIA — The much-anticipated state Route 57 reconstruction project will be broken up into three phases over the course of about 18 months, city officials said. At a cost of $20 million, with the city funding a portion with a 10-year, $2.7 million loan from the state infrastructure fund, the project is slated to start in June.

That’s about two months after city officials expect to award the contract, and many years after the idea to redo the thoroughfare was first introduced.

However, now that the project is approaching reality, motorists eager to see work begin should know that it isn’t going to be easy going.

There will be significant traffic disruptions for months to come, City Engineer Mukund Moghe said. The contractor — still to be determined — has to maintain one lane of traffic in each direction at all times, but that’s going to be a pretty busy lane given all the traffic that travels along the road daily, he said.

The first phase will start at Chestnut Ridge Road and go to Cleveland Street. The second phase picks up at Cleveland Street and goes to Gulf Road. The third phase finishes the road from Gulf Road to the end of the project at Lorain Boulevard.

Moghe said the project was broken into phases to cut travel disruptions.

He said the contractor can come up with his or her own phasing to complete the project in time, but it will be subject to approval from the city and the Ohio Department of Transportation.

Once completed, the 5.3-mile project will include new lights, traffic signals, concrete medians and longer turn lanes.

“It will be a lot of work in a short period of time, but something the road definitely needs,” Mayor Bill Grace said.

All work has to be completed and accepted by the city’s Engineering Department by Oct. 31, 2009, or the contractor will be assessed a $2,000-a-day fine. 

That stipulation is meant to ensure the project, which took five years to go through the local, state and federal approval maze, will not drag.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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