Residents using Lake Road routinely should now plan for delays or alternate routes: 1.5 miles of Lake Road, stretching from Columbia Road to the city’s eastern border, started repaving Monday. The project has a target completion date of Sept. 15.
While the construction should be complete in 45 days, Jonathan Liskovec, director of public service and properties for Bay Village, warns that, after taking into account miscellaneous interruptions and bad weather, the road work will likely take closer to 60 days to complete. This means the project should wrap up by Sept. 30 at the very latest.
Lake Road will remain open through its construction.
The $1.3 million project, being done in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Transportation, includes full- and partial-depth pavement base repairs, installation of a new asphalt surface course, curb repairs, catch basin and utility adjustments, ADA-compliant curb ramp improvements and new pavement markings.
“Roads get repaved based on how they’re rated — their condition ratings,” said Liskovec. “Lake Road was continuing to get worse and worse. It was about a four-year process of working with ODOT to get it programmed.”
ODOT and the city are splitting the cost of the project 50-50.
Liskovec said the 45 days initially slated for the project are for “substantial completion.” He explained this time refers to the period until “the roadway will be ready for use without obstruction.”
“If there are punch list items or minor items left outside the roadway itself, there might be a runover beyond the 45 days,” Liskovec said. “Ultimately, if the substantial completion date is not met, ODOT will determine if they will impose liquidated damages.” This is a penalty instituted for missing the completion deadline.
“In the event the project runs long, it will depend on the nature of the project delay as to whether or not the cost of the project may or may not increase,” Liskovec said.
While Lake Road is being worked on, drivers must also navigate work on Wolf Road. Cuyahoga County is resurfacing Wolf from Clague Road to just east of Cahoon Road and from Cahoon west to Sutcliffe Drive. Dedicated bike lanes are being added on each side of the roadway from Dover Center Road to Clague by widening Wolf on the south side.
While many Bay Village residents are distressed at the amount of road construction, Bay’s service department didn’t have any say on the timing of the construction on either Lake and Wolf.
The Lake repaving project was set into motion in 2017, prior to Liskovec’s term as director. “[The road] has to deteriorate at a certain speed for [ODOT] to program. That’s how we got programmed for this year,” Liskovec said.
Liskovec stated that the average pavement life is between 20 and 30 years, meaning this section of road shouldn’t need to be redone again until 2042 or beyond. The portion of Lake Road that is currently under construction was last resurfaced in 1994.
According to Liskovec, the past two years have provided a “constant battle keeping potholes filled and the roadway safe.”
The construction on Lake Road is being completed by Ronyak Paving, a company that’s been in business in Northeast Ohio since 1939.
As for upcoming and concurrent construction projects, Liskovec says there’s not much else for residents to anticipate. “Currently, right now, Ashton Lane’s closed for the bridge replacement, which is another ODOT project.”
He further confirmed that the Wolf Road construction is moving along “pretty well.”
“[In the] last progress meeting, the contractor was still on schedule for an end-of-November completion,” Liskovec said. “They’re still working on stuff on the south side [of the road].”
The Wolf Road project is being completed by Catts Construction.
Liskovec says that Wolf Road was initially an 18-month project. “The contractor approached (us) at the pre-construction meeting and said, ‘We’ve got a subcontractor on board. We want to do it in six months.’ We look at it as get in, get done, get out, with less disruption to everybody’s life… we’re trying to shorten that window.”
According to Liskovec, the traffic shift on Wolf will be happening soon. While cars will still be directed eastbound, the traffic flow will be swapped to the south side of the road as construction begins on the north side.
“There’s been so much going on in the city this year,” Liskovec said. “I’m very grateful for everyone’s patience as we get through these very big projects. I’m looking forward to having a calmer year next year.”
Contact this reporter at sillius@westlifenews.com or 440-871-5797.
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