Crocker-Stearns to open Dec. 18
By Jeff Gallatin
Westshore
Published Dec. 10, 2008

City officials are ready to finish cutting all the tape on the long-awaited Crocker-Stearns Road Extension project and open up the roadway.

A ceremony has been set for 10:30 a.m. Dec. 18 at the border line where North Olmsted and Westlake meet on the roadway on the more than $13 million project which will connect via the North Olmsted and Westlake connector for I-90 and I-480. Construction work began on the project in March 2007 last year after decades of discussion, planning and work. The North Olmsted portion will be completed with the finishing touches on the Westlake portion scheduled to be done next spring, with the roadway still being open. It includes the expansion of Crocker-Stearns Road from Center Ridge Road in Westlake to Lorain Road in north Olmsted as well as the widening of Stearns Road from Lorain to I-480.

Officials from North Olmsted, Westlake, Cuyahoga County and Fabrizi Trucking and Paving, the general contractor on the project, will attend.

“It’s been some project to work on,” said Mayor Thomas O’Grady. “I can remember hearing about it as a resident shortly after we moved to North Olmsted and then working on the project as a councilman-at-large and council president. We’ve been able to work closely with the county, state and federal officials as well to keep it going smoothly during this time period. I certainly thank them for everything they’ve done to get this project on track and staying moving forward.”

O’Grady said the ribbon-cutting will be the culmination of much work.

“We won’t have people cutting through other areas when they can use this roadway now,” he said. “It should bring a lot of positives to not only the city, but the entire region.”

Councilman-at-large Michael Gareau Jr., who is also chairman of city council’s finance committee, said although the road construction is done, work pertaining to the Crocker-Stearns area remains.

“Now we have to make sure we develop it properly,”  he said. “We want to make sure we get the best possible development of the area to aid the city and area.”

Nicole Dailey Jones, the chairwoman of council’s Streets and Transportation Committee, said the completion will provide current and future benefits.

“People will be glad to see the end of the construction,” said Jones, who represents the ward where the road is located. “It’s been tough for people who live in the area to go around and through all the work and it’s been a little rough for drivers.

“But we also should see continued development of the area,” she said. “Some businesses are locating in the area to be near the extension area. Others will see it as a good way to get from one business area to another in a smooth manner.”

North Olmsted Service Director Duane Limpert said it will serve as a good entrance to the city.

“We’re glad to get the orange barrels down,” he said. “It should give people a good feeling about us and more willing to consider doing things in the city.”

Westlake Mayor Dennis Clough told West Life he believed the reason why the project took 30 years to complete was that the county government did not make it a priority. That changed, Clough said, when current County Engineer Robert Klaiber took office in 1999. Klaiber recognized the importance of the project to the region and sought out funding, Clough said.

Clough said he believed the new roadway’s impact on the Westshore will be huge.

“It’s the only four-lane connecting route between I-480 and I-90 on the West Side,” Clough said. The closest direct connecting route is West 117th Street in Cleveland, he said.

Crocker-Stearns will improve traffic flow in the area and draw traffic away from some residential streets, the Westlake mayor said.

“Besides that, it’ll be a lot easier to give directions,” he joked.

(West Life reporter Kevin Kelley contributed to this article.)