On June 8, 2007, the NOACA Governing Board approved the following regarding this project: Resolution No. 2007-019 Project Planning Review Resolution No. 2007-020 Plan and TIP Amendment Title: Reconstruction of Liberty Road in Bentleyville Sponsor: Bentleyville Village PID No: 80975 Estimated Total Cost: $636,926 Proposed Source of Federal Funds: SAFETEA-LU History/Background: The Village of Bentleyville is the sponsor of a Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 – a Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) earmark. The project is House High Priority Project Earmark No. 2390 (Road resurfacing and improvements). The Village approved Resolution No. 2007-03, to improve Liberty Road (CR-148) in the Village of Bentleyville. Current Conditions: Liberty Road is functionally classified as an urban collector. Liberty Road is a two-lane facility with a pavement width of twenty-one feet. The existing lane width is ten and one-half (10.5) feet wide with graded shoulders. There are no sidewalks. Liberty Road currently has roadside ditches and a roadside storm sewer system to provide drainage. The width of the existing right-of-way (RW) is sixty feet (60’). The sponsor reports that Liberty Road serves as major crossroad between Bainbridge, Solon, Bentleyville and Chagrin Falls. According to the sponsor, the average daily traffic (ADT) on Liberty Road is 2,595 vehicles per day with three percent trucks (2003 count). The posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour. Proposed Project: The proposed project involves major repairs and overlays to Liberty Road, in the Village of Bentleyville, from the Solon north corporation line to 250 feet south of Solon Road. The proposed work includes widening the road by three feet to make the road twenty -four feet wide, installing curbs, gutters, drainage under drains and storm sewers. The road will remain two lanes, but with lanes eleven feet wide and paved shoulders two feet wide. The project length is 0.568 mile. The estimated total cost, provided by the sponsor, is $636,926. The total earmark is $560,000. An obligation limit of 91% ($509,600) has been applied to the earmark total. Therefore, a total of $509,600 in earmark funding is available to the sponsor. Anything over $509,600 is the responsibility of the project sponsor. The sponsor must provide a twenty percent match for this amount ($127,400). Staff Comment (Summary): Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) Team: The sponsor must provide for all costs over the obligation limit. This project promotes NOACA’s Connections 2030 Plan Goal 3 (Preserve and Improve the Efficiency of the Transportation System). Advance to committee and public review with the understanding that the sponsor will make a good faith effort to address questions and comments. Regional Transportation System (RTS) Team: The 2004 pavement condition rating (PCR) in this project area is 59 (fair to poor condition). If no maintenance work is done, the PCR in 2008 (the planned construction year) is projected to be 43, which puts this section of roadway in the poor category. Liberty Road in Solon has bike lanes from Bainbridge Road north to the Bentleyville Village line. This road segment is also very close to the Metroparks South Chagrin Reservation that has a multipurpose path and Chagrin River Road, which is a very popular road with cyclists. Therefore, the RTS Team recommends that a 4’ shoulder be provided that would connect to the bike lane on Liberty in Solon. Plan Forecast Team: This is preservation project in a non-Urban Core Community Intergovernmental Review and Consultation (IGRC): If you are a representative of a governmental entity and would like to comment on this project, please email us. “We have reviewed the information provided on the Liberty Road widening and reconstruction project in Bentleyville. Based on this information, we recommend designing the road under the current specifications at 26’ wide with the 2’ paved shoulder on either side. We do not recommend further increasing the width of the road to 28’ to accommodate bicycle traffic. While encourage alternative forms of transportation is desirable, this option will increase the impervious area of the road and the quantity of storm water runoff into the Chagrin River system. As you know, communities throughout the Chagrin River watershed are actively working to reduce increases in impervious surface as land is developed. For this project, the potential increase in bicycle traffic does not outweigh the potential flooding, erosion, and water quality problems related to impervious cover. In addition, we recommend that the roadside ditch/swale system along Liberty Road be maintained with vegetation to stabilize this area and prevent sediment erosion of the swale during storm events. Established vegetation will decrease flow velocity and increase storm water infiltration, helping to reduce storm water quality and quantity problems.” - Chagrin River Watershed Partners, Inc. Public Involvement: NOACA encourages comments from the public on this proposed transportation improvement project. Please notify us if you would like to be added to our e-mail notification list for future updates. Committee Review: Bicycle Advisory Council (BAC): In addition to the RTS Team’s recommendation above, the BAC recommends that the paved shoulder be designated as a bike lane with the appropriate markings. Regional Transportation Investment Subcommittee (RTIS)/Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC): No comments; recommended for amendment to NOACA's Transportation Plan and TIP.