Ohio’s Solon As Phase 2 of the SOM Center Road rebuilding project begins on Tuesday, Aug. 19, drivers in Solon should be ready for significant traffic changes.
From Ada/Arthur Drive to Linden Drive, the southbound lanes of SOM Center (state Route 91) will be blocked; only northbound traffic will be allowed during construction. Truck traffic will use a different route via Aurora Road to state Route 82, while passenger vehicles heading south will be diverted from Aurora Road to Liberty Road and then to Pettibone Road.
SOM Center south of Aurora Road will continue to operate, providing access to Linden Drive and neighboring shopping malls, city officials stressed.
Crews are working on the long-term restoration of Solon Road at the same time as the SOM Center. On June 27, traffic patterns changed from one-way westbound to one-way eastbound along Solon Road between Aurora and Bainbridge roads. The measure, according to Public Works Commissioner William Drsek, assists workers leaving the city’s industrial region by easing traffic.
According to Drsek, the detour flipped. This morning, they opened it to eastbound traffic on Solon Road, which was previously only open to westbound traffic. Instead of having to take the detours from Aurora Road up to (Ohio) 91, residents of the industrial area near Cochran Road will find it much easier to get home.
According to Drsek, in order to expedite the construction schedule, the city is paying the contractor more, forcing personnel to work five 10-hour days rather than the usual four. The anticipated completion date of the Solon Road project has been advanced by roughly three weeks as a result of this modification. According to City Engineer John Busch, significant completion might occur by the end of September if the weather holds. He pointed out that segmenting the job into stages enhances safety and reduces disturbance.
According to Busch, the first was that we didn’t want to have to alter the traffic signals. The second reason we choose this approach was purely for safety reasons, rather than to maintain, say, two-way traffic.
Additionally, the city is still working on repairing the concrete on SOM Center Road between Ada and Linden drives. Only northbound traffic will be permitted within the zone during this phase.
There is still a diversion that leads south on SOM Center and back north on Pettibone Road, Liberty Road, and Aurora Road to service communities including Ada Drive, Hanover Woods, Southside Park, Liberty Hills, and Meadow Estates. It is anticipated that this diversion would last until August 26. After then, workers will move to the other side of the road to finish the remaining tasks.
Weather permitting, the SOM Center project is expected to be substantially finished by November 26. During the busy construction season, city officials are asking drivers to be patient, heed designated detours, and allow extra time for travel.
