projects announced

Orange barrel season is upon us as the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission gets ready to unleash a capital improvement budget of $226 million for 2023 projects scattered across the 241-mile toll road that runs through 13 counties in northern Ohio.

e major roadway construction projects on the Ohio Turnpike include pavement replacement and resurfacing, bridge renovations and modernizing the toll collection system. A number of these projects are set to begin as early as April, with others beginning in summer and running until December.

Toll plaza upgrades to modernize the collection system at toll interchanges will take place at the Elyria and North Ridgeville interchanges in Lorain County; the Strongsville interchange in Cuyahoga County; the interchanges at I-77 and state Route 8 in Summit County; Portage County interchanges in Ravenna and state Route 44; and the Warren interchange in Trumbull County.

Two lanes of tra c, in all threelane sections of the turnpike, will be maintained during peak travel times as upgrades are being made “to limit delays for travelers on the Ohio Turnpike,” according to a statement from the commission. “Some single lane zones will be necessary but will occur mostly during o -peak travel times or at night,” the statement collaborated on this Age-Friendly Health Systems partnership since its inception. e initiative is based on the “4Ms framework” — What Matters, Medications, Mentation (mood and memory) and Mobility — in acute, chronic and ambulatory care settings for people ages 65-plus, according to the release.

“Many of the health bene ts of age-friendly care may come after the visit,” Nicholas Schiltz, an assistant professor at CWRU’s School of Nursing and the project’s co-principal investigator, said in a provided statement. “ is next phase includes the rst national demonstration of the long-term impact of the 4Ms on outcomes like preventing falls and discontinuing high-risk medications.” is phase will also expand age-friendly care to other MinuteClinic services such as behavioral health, according to the release, which notes that MinuteClinic provides funding for leadership support and clinician professional develop- ment.

Including the latest award to CWRU’s School of Nursing, the foundation has recently awarded six grants nationally, totaling $10.1 million with a focus on, according to the release: making public health and health care more age-friendly; assisting older adults and family caregivers in decision-making during serious illness; advancing policies that support direct-care workers and family caregivers; and continuing to evaluate aging issues in philanthropy.

Lydia Coutré: lcoutre@crain.com, (216) 771-5479, @LydiaCoutre mainline bridge over the Cuyahoga River Valley in April will reduce turnpike tra c to two lanes in each direction into fall 2023. e project is expected to be completed by year-end. said.

` Continuation of the replacement of the state Route 21 bridge over the Ohio Turnpike in Summit County. is year, the western (southbound state Route 21) side of the bridge will be removed and replaced. Tra c in both directions of state Route 21 will be maintained while the turnpike will be reduced to two lanes both eastbound and westbound. e project is expected to be completed in October.

On average from 2018 to 2022, there were 5,044 work zone-related crashes per year on Ohio’s roadways, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. Since 2018, the state has had 25,576 work zone-related collisions, resulting in 92 crashes with 101 fatalities.

Northeast Ohio turnpike construction projects beginning in 2023 are:

` The Ohio Turnpike’s largest bridge project in the past 20 years, with the replacement of the mainline bridges over Tinkers Creek in both Summit and Portage counties. Due to the amount of work involved with the project and the requirement to maintain two lanes of traffic through the duration, the project is expected to be completed in late 2025.

` Repair and rehabilitation to the

` Work on three overhead bridges in Hinckley, including the Ohio Turnpike’s ramp bridge over state Route 57, the Race Road bridge and the Stearns Road bridge. Access to state Route 57 southbound from the turnpike will be detoured, and the overhead bridges on Race and Stearns roads will be detoured. e work on all three bridges is expected to be completed in the fall, but additional work to the road, sewer and water lines along Stearns Road will continue into late 2024.

Kim Palmer: kpalmer@crain.com, (216) 771-5384, @kimfouro ve