MEDINA — Officials are in the final planning stages for the $4.7 million West Smith Road reconstruction project that will add a left-hand turning lane on State Road.
Medina received two grants toward the project’s completion — a $750,000 federal grant and a $476,000 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission, City Engineer Patrick Patton said. The city will pay for the rest with funds allocated for street projects from Medina’s income tax.
Patton said the project, which his department has been planning for three years, will be completed in two phases.
The $4.7 million West Smith Road project in Medina will reconstruct the intersection of West Smith and State roads and add a left-hand turn lane on State. (Kaitlin Bushinski / Gazette)
In the first phase, 2,200 feet of West Smith will be redone from the railroad tracks between Lake and State roads to a little past State Road. The section of State Road from the railroad tracks just south of Westside Marathon to West Smith also will be reconstructed, he said.
A left-hand turning lane will be added to State Road and the left-hand turning lane on West Smith will be lengthened to ease traffic congestion and make turning easier for tractor-trailers, Patton said.
Because crews must widen the street, he said the city is talking with two businesses — The Mailroom and Standard Welding — and the Medina County Fair Board, which will be affected by the construction.
Patton said the city will have to purchase between 5 and 10 feet of land from each before construction can begin.
“We’ve been meeting with the property owners and trying to come up with a solution that will work for them,” he said.
Although in the final planning stages, the project may not begin until 2011.
“If everything goes smoothly, there’s a chance we’ll be able to start a little bit of work at the end of this year, but it’s more likely that it will be spring of next year,” Patton said.
The second phase of the project will reconstruct West Smith from the railroad tracks west to Lake Road.
Each project will include storm sewer and water line replacements and landscaping along the curbs, Patton said.
Once construction starts, Patton said West Smith likely will be reduced to one-way traffic.
“It’s going to be a tremendous impact,” Patton said of the construction. “It’s going to be very frustrating, I’m sure. It’s a very busy street with a lot of truck traffic.”
Mayor Dennis Hanwell said he is glad progress is being made on the project.
“It’s instrumental to support our industrial base on the west side of town,” Hanwell said. “It will make it easier for trucks to make that turn from West Smith onto State. That’s been one of the frustrations I’ve heard from the industrial leaders in the community, because some of the truck drivers don’t want to come out or they want to charge higher rates than (usual)” because of the inconvenience.
“It helps eliminate some of those hurdles,” Hanwell said. “It’s a great project.”
Contact Kaitlin Bushinski at (330) 721-4050 or kbushinski@ohio.net.
