Urban Paving grant to help fund 2024 Brecksville Road resurfacing

by Melissa Martin

Aug. 15 city council meeting

City officials announced Aug. 15 that the city of Brecksville has been awarded a $1.1 million grant as part of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Urban Paving Program to help fund the resurfacing of state Route 21, a project set to get underway in 2024.

The grant program helps communities throughout the state of Ohio pay for resurfacing projects on state routes, as well as U.S. routes.

City Engineer Gerry Wise said the project, which impacts a three-quarter-mile stretch of Brecksville Road between Miller Road and the city’s southern municipal border, is estimated at $2.7 million, which includes design, construction and construction management costs.

The project calls for the removal and replacement of asphalt road surface 2¼ inches deep as well as the construction of sidewalks along Brecksville Road. Curbs and some of the road base will also be repaired, Wise said.

The city and ODOT have plans to resurface the entire stretch of Brecksville Road that is located in Brecksville. The section from state Route 82 to the city’s northern border is scheduled for 2025, while the section from Ohio 82 to Miller is scheduled for 2026, city officials announced previously.

The city also will build sidewalks along this stretch of Brecksville Road, which currently only has a small stretch of sidewalk south of Snowville Road.

Councilman Daryl Kingston said he was excited to learn the city would receive partial funding for the project.

“If you look back to the draft connectivity plan this committee rolled out last year, this is another very big piece of that to get connectivity down our two main arterials,” Kingston said.

The city will seek bids for the project next spring, with construction slated to begin in June. The project is expected to be complete by October 2024.

Riverview Road

Wise also informed city officials the city was forced to close Riverview Road Aug. 15 after receiving word from the city’s service department of another slippage.

Wise told council the slippage is located south of state Route 82 and Station Creek Parkway. He said the city elected to close the roadway as a safety precaution and to further evaluate how much the slippage continues to move.

Wise said the closure would be only temporary if the city were able to maintain one-way traffic along the roadway while crews reopen the road and stabilize the pavement. He said the city plans to make permanent improvements as part of the 2024 budget.

“Our plan is to design the work during winter and get it going during spring like we did this year on Riverview Road south of Fitzwater,” he said. “That’s our goal.”

Audible pedestrian signals

Council is also moving forward with its plans to install three audible pedestrian crossing signals after it received $50,000 as part of Cuyahoga County’s 2023 Community Supplmental Grant Program.

Service Director Joe Kickel said the signals will be installed at the intersection of Arlington Drive and Brecksville Road; at City Hall Drive and Brecksville Road; and at state Route 82 and Brecksville Road.

The work is not expected to be completed until 2024 as the signals require the installation of push-button electric poles to meet ADA compliance requirements. Kickel said there is currently a four- to six-month wait from the time the city orders the poles.

“When we get the poles will determine when we can start the project,” he said. ∞