by Eric Marotta

Editor

Northfield Center -- About 2,000 township residents cut off from the rest of their community since last April should find their access restored a year ahead of schedule.

Ohio Department of Transportation spokesperson Paula Putnam told the News Leader Aug. 28 that ODOT could reopen Twinsburg Road under Route 8 as early as October.

"We're definitely going to try and get it open a year early, but it's never going to have access onto Route 8," she said, adding the department expects the opening at the latest will be in early November.

The road was closed in April 2007 as part of ODOT's $91 million first phase of a two-phase project to turn Route 8 into a limited access expressway between Interstate 271 and Route 303.

The road's closure had forced area fire departments to work out an emergency response plan for the Brandywine Preserve and Rolling Brook subdivisions off Twinsburg Road east of Route 8. An estimated 2,000 residents live in the area, according to Trustee Paul Buescher, who last year lobbied ODOT and contacted county, state and federal officials in an attempt to expedite the project.

"If they can pull it off, they'll be heroes," Buescher said Aug. 28. "We'd be back to normal then."

The first phase's scheduled completion date is Sept. 30, 2009 -- about the same time Twinsburg Road was scheduled to be reopened, according to Putnam.

While elimination of access from Twinsburg Road to Route 8 is part of the overall project, the road's closure was required during construction of a double overpass on Route 8.

Putnam said project engineers and contractors examining the work schedule realized they could get the work done ahead of time.

"We knew that the closing was an inconvenience and we saw that [the reopening] could be done without extra cost," Putnam said.

Putnam said contractors reassigned workers to compete the bridge over Twinsburg Road ahead of time, but the bridge must be finished before the road below can be paved. Workers are preparing the Twinsburg Road bed for paving, Putnam said.

While the eastern, future northbound overpass is completed and is being used for traffic, contractors are waiting for dirt to settle on the western, southbound side.

In a couple of weeks, Putnam said, workers will install steel beams on the southbound overpass, pour the bridge's concrete deck and pave the new road, a process that should take from two to four weeks.

The Twinsburg Road closure had been an object of concern, as detours would give the Northfield Center Fire Department an estimated 14-minute response time to the area, according to Northfield Center Fire Chief Robert Derrit.

Prior to the closure, Derrit and other area fire chiefs worked out a plan whereby Boston Heights would serve as the first responder for emergency medical calls in that area. Its response time to the area is about seven minutes, according to Derrit.

Under the plan, Northfield Center rescue squads arrive later, after traveling south to Hines Hill road, across Route 8, then north to Twinsburg Road via Walters Road.

According to Capt. Frank Risko, Northfield Center has had Boston Heights respond to the area about three times per month since the road closure. Boston Heights is being paid $120 per call.

The total number of calls Boston Heights has responded to was not available by press time.