Comments sought for Route 8 connector road
HUDSON - It's a peripheral part of a much larger construction project, but a state Route 8 access road is its own project with its own set of concerns for Summit County.
On April 22, Summit County Engineer Greg Bachman and other engineering and state officials will discuss plans for a connector road that will link Hines Hill Road and Highland Road in northern Summit County, along the eastern side of state Route 8.
Bachman's office said the service road will act as an extension to the $110 million, state-led project - a proposed series of cloverleafs and bridges intended to guide motorists over congested intersections, like those at Twinsburg and Highland roads.
Plans call for the elimination of traffic lights on Route 8 for travelers between Route 303 and Interstate 271.
The April 22 event, the first of several public meetings, takes place 7 p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Hudson, 240 Hines Hill Road.
Though construction of the Ohio Department of Transportation project is not set to begin until 2007, Bachman still needs the estimated $8.5 million to build the connector road.
"This is something there's been a lot of local interest in," said Dave White, a planning engineer for Bachman. White added officials plan to brainstorm with residents about funding options and other project concerns. The public session also will be an opportunity for residents to address anything they think officials didn't include in the proposal. "It will really be a feedback session," said Michael Chadsey, spokesperson for Bachman.
The connector road will most likely be built in two phases, said White: the first part would comprise Hines Hill Road to Twinsburg Road; and the second phase would cover Twinsburg Road north to Highland Road.
Some residents and business owners say they are concerned about diminishing property values and losing access to Route 8 as a result of the ODOT-led plans, but the connector road project is a separate entity, said White.
"One of our challenges is trying to keep those projects separate," he said.
For information, call the engineer's office at 330-643-2850.
E-mail: cmiller @ recordpub.net
Phone: 330-688-0088, ext. 3154