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Intersective upgrade faces money squeeze
(by Sue Reid - October 21, 2009)
Intersective upgrade faces money squeeze
By SUE REID
Solon City Council's safety and public properties committee tabled a request by the engineering department to provide additional services for the Cochran-Carter-FA Lennon intersection improvement project in the industrial district.
The committee opted for a more cost-effective approach to the project, members said last week, in light of one of three alternatives suggested, which carried a $2.7 million price tag.
Alternative three, which was recommended by the engineering department and design consultant Euthenics, involved widening Cochran Road to the west side only, extending north to Solon Road and south based on the calculated storage required.
Alternative one involved a symmetric expansion of both the east and west sides of Cochran Road at an estimated cost of $1.67 million, Assistant Public Works Director David Hromco told the committee.
Alternative two, which involved the expansion on the west side of the road but only as needed to accomplish the turning lanes for the Carter and Cochran roads intersection, had a price tag of $1.9 million. That alternative, which was the preferred option of the committee, also involved less utility relocation.
Councilman Edward K. Suit said the original intent of the project was to put in a left-turn lane at the Carter and Cochran roads intersection, and the estimate was $1.1 million. "The cost has really ballooned," he said, "and I'm not sure alternative three is necessary."
Euthenics recommended alternative three as the best choice given the fact that the construction limits of two other alternatives presented would end within 900 feet of Solon Road and would create an east-west lane shift type of traffic pattern. The engineering department agreed with this recommendation, as well as with the fact that the intersection of Cochran and Solon roads would benefit by increasing the storage capacity of the northbound left-turn lane. This was verified based on current traffic counts from the recent traffic master plan update, city Engineer John J. Busch said.
Mr. Suit said he is not sure whether the city is going to get an increase in traffic in that area in the future because Solon's industrial section is almost fully built out.
"You get an increase in traffic when businesses move in," Mr. Suit said. "We have a very low vacancy rate in our industrial section." That vacancy rate is about 7.2 percent, which is a fairly low rate, Economic Developer Director Peggy Weil-Dorfman said.
In addition, Mr. Suit said, the amount of vacant land available for new construction in the industrial section is extremely limited. "There's not going to be a lot of new build out for new industrial buildings," he said.
The only exception to that, Ms. Weil-Dorfman said, might be if the city sees some redevelopment projects, such as the tear-down of old buildings and rebuilding of them, "which may or may not add employment.
"There is a potential that a project like that could," Ms. Weil-Dorfman said, "particularly if it changes from a warehouse building to a office building."
Councilman Edward H. Kraus said he did not support the $2.7 million alternative.
"I do think $1.9 million for what you are getting is probably worth it," Mr. Kraus said. "Alternative 2 provides what you are looking for with a more cost-effective approach."
Mr. Suit and Mr. Russo agreed.
"The original scope for the design of the improvements did not include the additional survey and design services needed for the recommended widening option since the original scope focused only on adding protected left-turn lanes at the Cochran-Carter intersection," Mr. Busch said of the $2.7 million cost.
Mr. Hromco said that the city has funding lined up for the project, and it is expected to begin during the construction season of 2010. Funding is coming from two sources, the Cuyahoga County Engineer's Office in the amount of $250,000 and the state Issue 1 program in the amount of $328,740. The remaining $1.3 million will be paid for by the city, Mr. Hromco said.
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