Officials redo Route 57 plan, give priority to dangerous corridor 

ELYRIA — Engineers have flipped plans to fix state Route 57 and now will start from the opposite end of the 5.3-mile work zone.

Elyria Mayor Bill Grace and city Engineer Makund Moghe said Tuesday that instead of beginning construction at Chestnut Ridge Road and working north, crews will start where potholes are worst — at Lorain Boulevard.

“That’s the worst section, so that’s where we want to start,” Moghe said. “I understand people’s concerns, and we are doing this as quickly as we can. We want this problem fixed, too.”

The state had wanted work to start at Chestnut Ridge so the easiest section could be finished quickly, but agreed to change the order, Grace said Tuesday.

Moghe said bids for the road work will be accepted beginning April 10, and the project should take about 18 months to complete.

The total cost is $20 million, with Elyria using a $2.7 million loan to cover its portion.

Once the first section — from Lorain Boulevard to Gulf Road — is complete, the second phase — from Gulf Road to Cleveland Street — will begin, Moghe said.

The final phase will run from Cleveland Street to Chestnut Ridge Road.

The road’s overhaul is expected to get under way in June after two years of planning by the city and the Ohio Department of Transportation. The work will include new lights, traffic signals and medians and longer turn lanes.

Moghe said the city is well aware that traffic will be a problem during construction.

The city initially had planned to keep all four lanes off traffic open near Midway Mall during the holiday season so it wouldn’t pose a problem to shoppers, Grace said.

But that doesn’t appear feasible, so contractors will be allowed to reduce traffic to one lane in each direction from Nov. 15 to Jan. 5, Moghe said.

The project is slated to be done by Oct. 31, 2009, and the contractors will have good reason to stay on track — the contract will include a $2,000 per day fine for every day it runs over.

Contact Jason Hawk at 329-7148 or jhawk@chroniclet.com.

 

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