Summit County Engineer's Office

Akron, OH – Summit County Engineer Alan Brubaker, PE, PS would like to alert residents and motorists of an upcoming daytime-only closure of the West Bath Road Bridge over the Cuyahoga River starting on Monday, July 9^th. The closure will begin at 8:00am and reopen at 3:30pm daily. Work is anticipated to take two days to complete. The bridge is located just east of the Riverview Road intersection on the border of Cuyahoga Falls and Akron.

A recent bridge inspection performed with a specialized vehicle that allows inspectors to look up-close under the structure over the river showed bridge deck deterioration mainly from the shoulders to the outside along both sides of the bridge. The temporary closure is necessary to move barriers inward on the bridge to keep vehicles off the deteriorated portion of the bridge deck.

One lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained after the barriers are relocated, however, the travel lanes will be narrower, so caution is advised.

In addition, a load limit of 5 tons and a 20-mph advisory speed limit was placed on the structure. The load limit and narrower lanes will remain in place until the bridge can be scheduled for major work or replacement, possibly as soon as 2019.

The detour route has been posted. The detour will involve Riverview Road, Ira Road, and Akron-Peninsula Road. All work is subject to inclement weather.

Copley Township, Ohio– Alan Brubaker, P.E., P.S., Summit County Engineer, would like to alert residents and motorists about an upcoming closure of the Wright Road Bridge, just west of Collier Road in Copley Township. The bridge will be closed from 8:00am to 4:00pm on Friday, August 25^th to convert the bridge into a one-lane facility. Detour routes will be posted.

When the bridge reopens, drivers should use caution when approaching the one-lane bridge. The vehicle closest to the bridge has the right of way. The County will also be installing signage and electronic message boards to inform motorists how to navigate the bridge.

The detour route will go from Collier Road to State Route 162 to Jacoby Road. All work is subject to inclement weather. 

Akron, Ohio–Summit County Engineer Alan Brubaker would like to alert motorists that effective April 4, 2017, 35 mph is the prima fascia speed limit for all County highways within Cuyahoga Valley National Park.

The speed of vehicles has long been a safety issue within the park where pedestrians, joggers, and bicyclists comingle with motor vehicles along curvy and hilly county highways. The change in speed limits was authorized by House Bill 455 and enhances safety for the 2.5 million annual visitors to Cuyahoga Valley National Park. The previous prima fascia speed limit was 55 mph in the unincorporated portions of the National Park.

The last thing park visitors wish to encounter while enjoying the beauty and peacefulness of a national park are vehicles speeding along at 55 mph or greater past the many hikers, bikers, and horseback riders using the trails throughout the park. “While drivers, riders and pedestrians will still need to use common care and caution within the park, at least we will now be able to post the county’s park roads at a more reasonable speed limit,” Mr. Brubaker said.

While many National Parks have speed limits established by the park commissioner, the roadways within Cuyahoga Valley National Park are the responsibility of the State, County, Townships, and Cities and therefore their speed limits are governed by the Ohio Revised Code. This revision to the Ohio Revised Code will only affect County Highways since the Township Highways within the Park are already posted at 35 mph or less and the prima fascia speed limit within municipalities is already 35 mph.

Mr. Brubaker stated that this speed limit change will also have positive economic and environmental impacts. Setting a standard speed limit will minimize the need for costly speed reduction studies. In addition, the Federal Highway Administration requires different designs for high speed roads when utilizing federal funds to make highway improvements. The 35 mph speed limit will greatly reduce the need for expensive and environmentally damaging roadway alignment modifications. The dollars that would otherwise be used flattening the hills and smoothing the curves can be used to improve the safety of the highway facilities for all park users by providing paved shoulders for pedestrians, cyclists, and hikers to avoid vehicular traffic.

In 2015 it was reported that the tourists visiting Cuyahoga Valley National Park created a $144 million dollar benefit to the area. A safer speed limit will make the National Park a more enjoyable tourist destination and create a positive economic impact in Northeast Ohio. The Ohio General Assembly is commended for making this change a reality.

Affected roadways:

Valley View Roadfrom the Cuyahoga County line to Chaffee Road

Chaffee Roadfrom SR 82 to Valley View Road

Highland Roadfrom Cuyahoga County line to Boyden Road

Brandywine Roadfrom Highland Road to Boston Heights corporate line

Riverview Roadfrom Cuyahoga County line to Peninsula corporate line

Boston Mills Roadfrom Black Road to Riverview Road

Boston Mills Roadfrom Richfield corporate line to Black Road

Columbia Roadfrom Black Road to Riverview Road

Black Road from SR 303 to Columbia Road

Brush Roadfrom Richfield corporate line to Black Road

Townsend Roadfrom Cuyahoga County line to Richfield corporate line

Wheatley Roadfrom Revere Road to Everett Connector

Revere Roadfrom Everett Road to Wheatley Road

Everett Roadfrom Revere Road to Everett Connector

Everett Connectorfrom Everett Road to Wheatley Road

Everett Roadfrom Everett Connector to Riverview Road

Riverview Roadfrom Cuyahoga Falls corporate line to Peninsula Village corporate line

Akron-Peninsula Roadfrom Cuyahoga Falls corporate line to Peninsula Village corporate line

Northampton Roadfrom Akron-Peninsula Road to Cuyahoga Falls corporate line

Quick Road from Akron-Peninsula Road to Cuyahoga Falls corporate line

Kendall Park/Truxell Roadfrom Akron-Peninsula Road to Akron-Cleveland Road

Ira Roadfrom Kemery Road to Cuyahoga Falls corporate line

Bath Roadfrom Shade Road to Cuyahoga Falls corporate line

Yellow Creek Roadfrom S. Revere Road to Cuyahoga Falls corporate line

Sand Run Roadfrom Akron corporate line to Yellow Creek Road