Ramp closures are still coming soon at Akron’s central interchange, but it’s unclear when the road work will once again get a green light.
Late Tuesday night, the Ohio Department of Transportation posted on Twitter and Facebook that ramp closures have been postponed until further notice for the ramp from Interstate 77 northbound to Interstate 76 westbound and the ramp from state Route 8 southbound to I-76 westbound.
The road closure signs were not put in place by the time roads were scheduled to close overnight, according to ODOT officials.
The contractor in charge of putting up road closure signs started installing the signs Tuesday evening and then realized it did not have enough manpower and equipment to get all of the signs in place in time for construction to start, ODOT spokesman Justin Chesnic said Wednesday morning.
“They just weren’t able to get them up in time,” he said.
He did not name the contractor but said, “They are in charge of putting the signs up.”
ODOT met with the contractor Wednesday afternoon and learned more about what caused the delay, ODOT spokesman Brent Kovacs said after the meeting.
Another meeting has been scheduled for Thursday in the hopes of deciding on a new closure date, he said.
“The big thing is we want to do the project the right way, and that’s the safe way,” he said.
Once the work begins, about 35,000 motorists using the central interchange each workday are expected to find new routes for the morning commute. The two one-lane ramps from northbound I-77 and southbound Route 8 will eventually be closed for bridge removal, which could last nearly four months.
Suggested alternates for I-77 northbound will be the I-277/U.S. 224 bypass, or main arteries into downtown, among them South Main and Arlington streets.
The suggested alternate for Route 8 southbound to West Akron is the Perkins Street/Route 59/Innerbelt. To Barberton and points west, the best route is to continue on I-77 south to the I-277/U.S. 224 bypass.
Through August, there also will be rolling lane and ramp closings on I-76 east of the central interchange to the Akron city limits, on I-76 in Barberton and Norton, and on state Route 8 north of Cuyahoga Falls.