OH: Northern Ohio developments and news

[seicer]

Inner Belt Bridge construction plan, schedule take shape
Posted by Karen Farkas, Plain Dealer, January 10, 2009

The 49-year-old Inner Belt Bridge, shown here in June 2005, carries 100,000 or so vehicles each weekday.It won't be fancy, but a sturdy new Inner Belt Bridge could be under construction by late next year.

Replacing the rapidly deteriorating existing structure could cost less than rehabbing it, and much of the money for a new bridge already is available.

The bridge, which carries 100,000 or so vehicles each weekday, would be closed for less than a year while a new one is being constructed.

That's a lot less time than some thought possible, although concerns remain over how to reroute traffic.

But a new report prepared for the Ohio Department of Transportation raises hopes while addressing what it will take to replace the aging Interstate 90 span -- a major east-west link in the nation's highway system -- in the shortest amount of time for the least amount of money.

ODOT paid $55,000 to the National Constructors Group, a consulting group out of California that has examined major transportation issues across the country, late last fall to develop a strategy and construction schedule for a new Inner Belt Bridge.

The group found:

- Building a basic concrete or steel girder bridge would cost between $179 million and $233 million, depending on which material is used.

The cost of rehabbing the historic Inner Belt Bridge, a long-talked-about option, would be roughly $213 million.

- Constructing a new bridge would take about two years, starting in October 2010.

- While a new bridge is being built, the old one probably would be closed to traffic for only 11 months because much of the work, including stabilizing the slope near the Cuyahoga River, would occur underneath the Inner Belt.

- Crews would work practically around the clock -- two 10-hour shifts a day for five or six days a week -- to build the foundation and piers for the new bridge, all the while keeping the old one open.

- A new bridge would have four lanes in each direction, like the existing bridge, but it could be widened for a fifth lane. A new West 14th Street entrance ramp would open with the new bridge.

Replacing the 49-year-old Inner Belt Bridge is an intriguing option, ODOT said.

"I think in general it was encouraging that a lot of work could be done without closing the bridge," said Bonnie Teeuwen, deputy director of the ODOT district that includes Cuyahoga County. "And even accelerating the project put the cost in the ballpark we were looking at."

How to redirect traffic during construction is one of many issues that must be addressed by ODOT, the city of Cleveland and the Federal Highway Administration before the bridge's future is determined.

Although the Inner Belt Bridge is among Mayor Frank Jackson's "critical projects" to push forward this year, he said Friday that disrupting traffic on the bridge for any length of time is not an option.

"One year is no better than two and is equally unacceptable. We expect the new bridge that we have been planning on for the past nine years and we want it built without the disruption of traffic," the mayor said in an e-mailed statement.

Jackson flatly rejected closing the bridge when ODOT inquired about it in November. He said there were too many unanswered questions over closing it. However, he said, he might reconsider if saving money on the project freed up funds for other projects in the city, including the Opportunity Corridor extending Interstate 490 from East 55th Street to University Circle and reconstructing the West Shoreway.

New year, same problems

The Inner Belt Bridge has been under scrutiny since October, following an annual inspection that showed the span is deteriorating faster than expected.

Two eastbound and two westbound lanes of the eight-lane bridge were closed to reduce weight because rust and corrosion had weakened several beams, also known as chords. The weakest link, a beam on the bottom of the steel truss over the Cuyahoga River on the south side of the bridge, could support only 62 percent of the bridge load.

In mid-November, trucks and buses were banned from the bridge and sent on a 2.5-mile detour on Interstates 490 and 77. Removing the weight of trucks allowed ODOT in December to open a third lane in each direction, still leaving the outer lanes closed. Each weekday, about 12,000 buses and trucks take the detour, and 100,000 vehicles use the bridge.

ODOT maintains the bridge is safe and will remain so for about five years, once $10 million in repairs to beams, gusset plates that join beams, brackets and other components are completed this summer, Teeuwen said.

The department had planned to spend about $213 million to rehabilitate the Inner Belt between 2010 and 2012 and had believed it would extend the life of the bridge another 25 years.

But the severity of the deterioration led it to ask the constructors group to study the option of building a new bridge.

National Constructors Group, which worked with other firms on the report, said once the deck on the old bridge is removed, the steel truss would come down in 700-ton sections. The portion of the bridge over the river would be lowered to a barge, and the other parts would be raised by a special lift crane.

The report said the westbound side of the bridge would be completed eight weeks before the eastbound side, so it could be opened to traffic in an emergency.

The project could be delayed by factors including weather, unexpected problems in removing the truss and problems in stabilizing the slope, the report said.

Transit authority searches for role

ODOT already is exploring how to handle traffic.

The RTA Red Line rapid could handle enough riders to take 1,000 vehicles off the road during a peak rush hour, said Mike Schipper, deputy general manager of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority. He said he met with ODOT officials in December to discuss how RTA could help if the bridge reduced lanes or was closed.

Schipper believes 1,000 vehicles per peak hour is about a fourth of the traffic using the bridge at that time. RTA runs one or two trains on the Red Line, which travels from Cleveland Hopkins International Airport to Tower City, and could add a third train, he said. There is enough parking at the stations and buses that go to the stations could handle more people.

"Our position is we can be part of the solution on whatever they do on the bridge," he said.

Schipper said he suggested to ODOT that traffic congestion could also be eased if Cleveland companies staggered their work hours, something other cities, like Houston, have done to limit traffic.

ODOT's Teeuwen said a decision regarding the bridge is expected within months.

She said ODOT has $182 million available for a new bridge. That includes $97 million in federal funds earmarked for the Inner Belt project, $50 million from ODOT's major bridge fund and $35 million in federal money provided for bridge repairs following the 2007 fatal collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis. That span had a design similar to the Inner Belt Bridge.

"As it stands, whether we rehabilitate or replace, we are very close [to having the money]," Teeuwen said. "We need to determine how to pay for the remainder and, if we close it, how to get the vehicles around town."

Three options for the Inner Belt Bridge

Rehabilitate
Cost: $213 million
Construction time: From 2010 to 2012
Traffic would be maintained, but there would be some lane closures. Bridge would have four lanes in each direction.

Replace
Cost: $179 million to $223 million
Construction time: From 2010 to 2012
Bridge would be closed to all traffic in 2012 for a year. It would have four lanes in each direction but could be widened to add a lane on each side.

Second bridge
Cost: $528 million
Construction time: From 2012 to 2015
A new five-lane westbound bridge would be built north of the existing bridge. The old one would be rehabbed or replaced to carry five lanes of eastbound traffic.
Mayor stands firm on keeping traffic flowing

[exit322]

I'm a proponent of fixing the problem.  Yeah, it'd be an ugly year, but rip the thing out and build a new one.  And just put the five lanes in each way from the get-go to help alleviate traffic.

While they're at it, widen I-77, too.

[catofdar]

Would this fix "Dead Man's Curve"?

[seicer]

Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland could be a toll road, ODOT says
Opportunity Corridor might get new life
By Karen Farkas, Plain Dealer, February 05, 2009

Opportunity Corridor, the sought-after link between Interstate 490 and University Circle in Cleveland, could be a toll road if it's built.

The proposed 2 ¾-mile corridor, like many other planned roadways, bridges and interchanges across the state, has been mothballed. Some have been on hold for years. Now those projects could include tolls, generating money to pay for themselves.

Such an idea would turn infrastructure dreams into reality, Scott Varner, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation, said Wednesday, two days after Gov. Ted Strickland laid out some of his plans for state transportation that would allow tolls.

"There is great potential to revisit a project that stalled in the past because of the cost," he said.

Among other projects that could get a new look are two interstate highways last proposed in the early 1990s.

Interstate 73 would provide the first interstate link between Toledo and Columbus, continuing on to Portsmouth. A proposed 84-mile Interstate 74 would link Cincinnati to I-73 at Portsmouth.

Varner said some new projects have languished since Strickland took office two years ago because the governor emphasized a "fix-it-first" policy, and ODOT did not have revenue for such large-scale proposals.

Under the governor's new plan, which has to be approved by state legislators, tolls would be authorized by ODOT at the request of cities or new transportation improvement districts. Toll revenue would go only to that planned project.

Currently only the Ohio Turnpike Commission can charge and collect tolls.

Tolls might be collected by an electronic toll system, similar to E-ZPass, which is being installed on the Ohio Turnpike. E-ZPass allows drivers to cruise through toll plazas, where antennas pick up account information from special windshield tags. The toll is automatically deducted from the driver's account.

While no specific qualifications or projects have been discussed, a toll project must meet two major criteria, Varner said.

"It has to add new capacity and be of regional or statewide importance," he said. "They have to have some sort of value that people would be willing to pay for."

A two-lane road could be expanded to a four-lane highway. A four-lane divided road could be improved to become an interstate. New roads that would encourage economic development, such as Opportunity Corridor, could qualify.

Tolls may be the only way to get the corridor built.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson is seeking $300 million in federal economic stimulus money to build the boulevard, but those funds probably would pay for projects that could get under way more quickly. The corridor is still in the planning stage.

If the city supports a toll, it could seek a low-interest loan through ODOT to build the parkway, paying it back with toll revenue.

Jackson was unavailable for comment Wednesday, said his press secretary, Andrea Taylor.

Another project considered a priority for the city is replacing the current eight-lane Inner Belt Bridge with a new span. However, the bridge probably would not qualify for a toll because it does not add capacity. But building a new $300 million bridge north of the current Interstate 90 bridge could.

The United States has about 5,000 miles of toll roads, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation.

While some states are seeking federal permission to add a toll to an existing interstate, most tolls are collected on new projects. Some states form a regional toll authority to collect tolls, while others authorize their department of transportation.

Ohio first began collecting tolls 177 years ago when its portion of the National Road, from Wheeling, W.Va., to Indiana, was turned over to the state.

[The Premier]

I'm a proponent of fixing the problem.  Yeah, it'd be an ugly year, but rip the thing out and build a new one.  And just put the five lanes in each way from the get-go to help alleviate traffic.

While they're at it, widen I-77, too.

They are recently working on it now. I was hoping, however, that it would be 3 lanes all the way to SR 18, not just within Cuyahoga County. That way, I-77 will have three lanes from Cleveland all the way to Canton.

[shoptb1]

Opportunity Corridor in Cleveland could be a toll road, ODOT says
Opportunity Corridor might get new life
By Karen Farkas, Plain Dealer, February 05, 2009

Among other projects that could get a new look are two interstate highways last proposed in the early 1990s.

Interstate 73 would provide the first interstate link between Toledo and Columbus, continuing on to Portsmouth. A proposed 84-mile Interstate 74 would link Cincinnati to I-73 at Portsmouth.

The I-73 proposal of the 90's was also a toll-road, but was scrapped due to a couple of factors: 1) community opposition in Delaware county around the proposed location in and around the city of Delaware, and 2) ODOT and OTC political pissing matches regarding control of the project.  It will be interesting to see what 15 years has done to alleviate (if at all) any of these problems.