Taylor Road Construction Project Starts Thursday

Update:

Phase I of the Taylor Road construction project originally will now start Thursday, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced today.

The 1.5-mile project was originally delayed because crews needed to continue preliminary work that began in early March, according to ODOT.

Taylor from Euclid Heights Boulevard to Bayreuth Road will be resurfaced, broken curbs will be repaired and drains will get an upgrade. The road will also be narrowed from seven lanes to five from Euclid Heights to Mayfield Road. The extra space will be allocated to the east side, where sits.

Construction on the 1.5-mile portion of the road that Mayor Ed Kelley calls the worst in Cuyahoga County was originally . Then it was pushed because officials weren't sure if state money to fix the road would be included in Gov. John Kasich's new budget. And later the project was .

Cleveland Heights and Ohio Department of Transportation officials spoke at a public meeting to address residents' questions and concerns. At that time, they planned to start work in April and finish by September.

City Manager Robert Downey spoke about the history of the plan, which began in 2002, at the November meeting. The city envisioned grass medians, benches and specialized lighting in its initial proposal, he said, but officials had to revise it when no one would help pay for the more than $7 million project.

Engineers from Wade Trim redesigned the plans to bring the price down to $5 million, but the construction company hired for the job, Perk, said it could complete the work for $3.6 million. The federal government will foot 80 percent of the bill, and the rest is paid for by several entities, said City Councilwoman Bonnie Caplan, including the state and county governments, as Taylor Road is not a city street. The road should have the typical 20-year lifespan.

Several residents who attended the November meeting and live across from Severance said they didn't like the new plans. They want the extra greenspace on their side, the residential side.

"We thought we were going to get nice greenspace and lighting," said Linda Jenkins, who has lived on South Taylor Road for nearly 30 years. She's concerned about the safety of children who play in the front lawns there. "It’s like we’ve been exed out, and it’s insulting."

Cleveland Heights resident Doug Whipple, , also said he wanted the extra space allocated to the residents.

The plans also call for the traffic light at the Severance service road between Mayfield and Euclid Heights to be removed. Forty driveway aprons will be replaced and ramps will be modified to meet ADA requirements.

There will be at least one southbound and one northbound lane open during all phases of the construction and the work will start at 7 a.m. and end at 3:30 p.m. weekdays. Delays could require weekend work, but ODOT does not foresee that.

Once Phase I of the project begins Thursday, it will shift traffic to the east side of Taylor Road and drivers will be able to use the following lanes:

• Between Euclid Heights Boulevard and Mayfield Road, one southbound lane and two northbound lanes
• Between Mayfield Road and Monticello Boulevard. one southbound lane, one northbound lane and one dual-center turning lane
• Between Monticello Boulevard and Bayreuth Road, one southbound lane and one northbound lane

And at the following Taylor Road intersections there will the dedicated turn lanes: 

• Euclid Heights Boulevard: there will be dedicated left turn lanes on north and southbound Taylor Road for access to Euclid Heights Boulevard 
• Mayfield Road: there will be a dedicated left turn lane on southbound Taylor Road and a dedicated right turn lane on northbound Taylor Road for access Mayfield Road
• Monticello Boulevard: there will be a dedicated left turn lane on northbound Taylor Road for access to Monticello Boulevard

A full schedule and more details about the work is available on the city's website.

Editor's note: Linda Jenkins is a blogger on Cleveland Heights Patch.

Related articles