Governing Board Action: November 14, 2003

NOACA Board Approves Transportation Plan Amendment to Widen I-71

Motorists traveling on I-71 in Medina County will soon be able to use three lanes from SR-303 in Brunswick south to SR-18 in Medina. Today the NOACA Governing Board approved an amendment to the regional Transportation Plan, Framework for Action 2025, authorizing widening this portion of I-71. The Board action enables the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to proceed with re-striping the existing wide shoulder in this section of I-71 to create a third general purpose lane. The action reverses a 1998 Board resolution that specified the highway remain at two lanes from SR-303 to SR-18.


As part of the resolution, Board members agreed to consider widening I-71 to three lanes in each direction from SR-18 to I-76, also in Medina County, next month. This project will be discussed and proposed as a separate Transportation Plan amendment at the December 12 NOACA Board meeting. The resolution also reaffirmed the conditions that were adopted as part of the 1998 resolution. These conditions addressed issues such as congestion problems at the I-71 / I-480 split and around the MetroHealth Curve


“I am pleased that the Board approved going forward with the re-striping of I-71 in the section that has essentially been completed,” said Medina County Commissioner Steve Hambley. “We also look forward to a continued dialogue with representatives from Cleveland and Cuyahoga County on all the issues involved with getting the widening of I-71 south of SR-18 on the Transportation Plan.”

ODOT District 12 Deputy Director David Coyle noted that ODOT will make every effort to re-stripe the freeway as soon as possible. “Air quality conformity analysis will need to be performed on the SR-303 to SR-18 segment, and the Federal Highway Administration will need to sign off on the improvement, but the re-striping can be done before heavy winter snows.”