AKRON, Ohio — Heads up, Akron. Some significant changes are coming to one of the city's major roads.
On Tuesday, the City of Akron announced plans for construction that will occur on a portion of East Market Street in 2024. That construction will include the resurfacing of a 3.5-mile stretch between High Street and the I-76 westbound ramp, in addition to a lane reduction between East Buchtel Avenue and Case Avenue as well as between Innovation Way and I-76.
According to a release, the deteriorated asphalt roadway pavement will be resurfaced within the project limits, while tility castings in the road will be adjusted "to better match the pavement surface elevation for a smoother riding surface." Additionally, curb ramps will be constructed where missing, while curb ramps in poor condition or that are not ADA compliant will be replaced.
As for the lane reduction, a review of traffic accident data from 2018 to the present showed a total of 238 accidents on East Market Street between East Buchtel Avenue and Case Avenue. Traffic accidents on East Market Street between Innovation Way and I76 during the same time span total 131.
The city noted that rear-end collisions when vehicles are stopping or slowing down in a travel lane were the cause of many of these accidents, while 66 of the crashes were contributed to sideswipes from vehicles changing lanes.
"These types of accidents may be reduced by changing the roadway striping from two travel lanes in each direction to one travel lane in each direction with a two-way left turn lane in the middle of the roadway," the city said in its release.
The reduction in travel lanes will ultimately affect East Buchtel Avenue to I-76 and is not expected to have any detrimental effects on travel time.
The city noted that questions, comments, and concerns may be sent via email to CJonke@akronohio.gov by June 19, 2023. They can also be mailed to:
Akron Engineering Bureau
166 South High Street
Design Division Room 701
Akron, Ohio 44308
Attn: Matthew Neff
Editor's note: the videos in this story are from a previous story.