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By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Monday, Nov 24, 2008
The new Interstate 271-state Route 8 interchange might open next year months ahead of schedule.
Beaver Excavating Co. of Canton, the lead contractor on the $120 million project, hopes to open all lanes and bridges for the revamped interchange in August, well in advance of the scheduled November opening.
''We went in there and hit it hard to start out with,'' said Jack Ford, company vice president of heavy and highway. ''I take my hat off to the guys on the project.''
The original completion date was in the summer of 2010. The Ohio Department of Transportation adjusted that to November 2009 and has offered Beaver Excavating a financial incentive to complete the project even earlier. The company can receive a bonus of up to $750,000 for finishing early.
The opening depends, obviously, on the weather, Ford said.
The interchange includes new ramps to ease the flow of traffic onto northbound Interstate 271 and southbound Route 8. The project also involved work at Highland Road and Twinsburg Road.
The work that remains involves bridge construction and paving, Ford said, adding that the company was able to save about $1 million through its engineering.
About 57,000 vehicles use that stretch of Route 8 each day and the interchange would become congested during rush hour. The flow of traffic has improved since construction began last year and there have been fewer accidents in the area, ODOT spokeswoman Paula Putnam said.
Northfield Center Township resident Bob Zarle said he has been impressed with the work.
''The traffic mess has not been as bad as I thought it would be,'' Zarle said. ''You see progress constantly, and you see people working everywhere. It's like an ant's nest.''
ODOT is in the middle of a $262 million project to transform Route 8 from Akron to Macedonia into a nonstop highway — as opposed to one with traffic lights and intersections. The multiyear effort involves completing interchange, bridge, signage and paving projects; shutting down access from side streets; and widening state Route 82 in Macedonia.
ODOT has estimated that it is paying out $1 million to $3 million every two weeks on the project.
While the traffic flow might have improved in Macedonia, it still is troublesome in nearby Boston Heights.
''It still backs up and it's still a nightmare,'' Police Chief Joseph Varga said. ''We haven't seen a change.''
Perhaps it will, he added, when contractors start work next year on a new Route 8 interchange with Interstate 80. That project has been estimated at $69 million and could begin as early as January. It is to be completed in fall 2011.
''Bear with us, because in a few years, it's going to be a nice ride,'' Putnam said.
For more on the Route 8 corridor project, go to http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/d04/ and click on the Route 8 icon.
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
The new Interstate 271-state Route 8 interchange might open next year months ahead of schedule.
Get the full article here.
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