The NOACA Governing Board approved the following project as a candidate to be amended to the NOACA Transportation Plan by adopting Resolution No. 2005-012 and as a proposed amendment to the TIP by adopting Resolution 2005-013 on March 11, 2005.

Title: Major Pavement Rehabilitation on I-77 in Cuyahoga County
Sponsor:  ODOT-District 12
Estimated Total Cost: $48,880,000
Proposed Source of Federal Funds: ODOT

History/Background:  In the past several years a number of studies have been initiated which included all or portions of this project length. The Cleveland Akron Canton Major Investment Study (CAC MIS) is one. More recently, the I-77 Corridor Add Lane Study (HNTB 2003a) and the I-77 and Wallings Road Revised Access Study (2003b) were undertaken to analyze existing conditions, assess the future freeway conditions and make recommendations on how to improve the conditions. The widening of I-77 from SR 82 to I-480 has been selected by the Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) as a Tier I project. The TRAC has committed $34.8 million in Major New Program funds for fiscal year 2008.

On May 10, 2002, Resolution 2002-037 was passed by the NOACA Governing Board, acknowledging receipt of the Final Report of the Canton/Akron/Cleveland (CAC) Major Investment Study (MIS) and completion of the study. The project is included in the TRAC’s Tier I Core projects. NOACA ranked this project fourth out of 9 regional priorities for TRAC 2003. Components of the project are included in ODOT District 12’s Pavement, Bridge, Major Rehabilitation and Jobs and Progress/High Priority Program.

The purpose of this project is to reduce congestion along I-77 in southern Cuyahoga County. Construction on this section of I-77, from the Ohio Turnpike (I-80) to Rockside Road, was completed in and opened to traffic in 1972. Other than lane modifications to the Rockside Road Interchange, the existing facility has not had any major modifications, other than pavement replacement since construction completion. The corridor served by the I-77 facility largely serves the local communities and commuters from Akron and Cleveland and between the two metropolitan areas.

Current Conditions: Three-year accident data, obtained from ODOT for the years 1999 through 2001, revealed the time of day accident patterns follow the corridor traffic volume patterns. Two distinct peaks, during the AM rush hour (7:00 AM) and the PM rush hour (5:00 PM), were identified. From the accident data it is realized that accident rates increase as you travel north through this corridor, consistently following the same trend as Average Daily Traffic (ADT). Moreover, nearly half of the accidents were classified as rear end crashes which is identified as an indication of a congestion problem (HNTB 2003a).

Although the overall population of Cuyahoga and Summit Counties has shown a slight decrease since the 1990 census (U.S. Census Bureau, 2004), the overall acreage of land designated as urban land has increased from 193,300 acres to 217,800 acres for the period from 1982 to 1997 (Natural Resource Inventory). This trend is consistent with continued growth and build-up of the suburban communities, typically referred to as urban sprawl.

The I-77 Corridor Add Lane Study (HNTB 2003a) reviewed the I-77 corridor between I-80 (Ohio Turnpike) to the south and I-480 to the north. This report further identified two Phases to the proposed I-77 upgrade. The report details the findings of Phase I, which starts in the City of Brecksville, runs through Broadview Heights and ends at the I-480/I-77 Interchange in Independence. Based on this study and 2010 peak hour traffic volumes, Highway Capacity Software (HCS) concluded the Level of Service (LOS) along I-77 is failing in many locations.

• Northbound I-77 during the AM peak; the highway is at LOS F from SR-82 east exit ramp through the Rockside Road exit ramp and at the I-480 merge junction.
• Southbound I-77 during the AM peak; the highway is at LOS F at the Rockside Road exit Ramp.