by Laura Freeman
Reporter
Hudson -- Drivers will get one more week before they'll need to take a detour around Boston Mills Road, which will be closed at state Route 8.
Originally slated to close June 12, the Ohio Department of Transportation postponed the closing date to June 19.
Chittenden Road, which runs parallel to Route 8, is being extended from Route 303 to Boston Mills Road as one of the detour routes during construction. However, the Chittenden Road project is not complete, according to ODOT representative Paula Putnam.
ODOT "can't do anything with Boston Mills Road until Chittenden is completed," Putnam said.
ODOT is finishing up paving and striping work, Putnam said.
Olde Route 8 is the detour for the west side of Route 8 traffic, Putnam said.
Boston Mills Road will be closed at Route 8 until fall of 2010 while construction of the new interchange at the site is completed, Putnam said. Drivers will not be able to access Route 8 from either side of Boston Mills Road.
"ODOT needs 12 months to build a bridge that will cross over Route 8 and become the new Boston Mills Road," Putnam said.
The Hines Hill Road intersection will be open. Work at that intersection will not begin until the work on Boston Mills Road intersection is completed.
The Ohio Turnpike also will be accessible from Route 8, she added.
The Boston Mills Road bridge is part of a $68.4 million project to create a new Route 8 interchange that connects the Ohio Turnpike interchange with Boston Mills and Hines Hill roads through the construction of frontage roads and the elimination of traffic signals and intersections on Route 8 at Boston Mills and Hines Hill roads. It is scheduled for completion in 2011.
Putnam said a newly constructed road, noted as Frontage Road, will named after Boston Heights police officer Jarod Dean.
Officer Dean died in the early morning hours of Jan. 19 on a stretch of northern Route 8 when he left his patrol car to clear debris from the roadway. He was struck and killed by a truck driver who alleges he did not see the officer.
E-mail: lfreeman@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150