Summit County has created a beehive of activity with reconstruction and improvements on Kilby Road. But Public Works Director Derrick Radke doesn’t expect that will interfere with the start of classes on the 23rd at Ecker Hill Middle School.
Speaking to KPCW last week, Radke said he knows the road work is frustrating, but he is asking motorists to be patient.
He said the paving on Kilby is on time and on budget.
“Staker Parsons is doing an amazing job of keeping things moving out at Kilby road from Ecker back to Jeremy. That road will see new blacktop starting Monday. That paving will be completed by Saturday. We should have the paving in front of the school complete enough for people to drive on it to get to school beginning probably Tuesday/Wednesday, so it’ll be well on it’s way to being completely paved by the day school starts.”
Beyond the paving, there’s other work to be done on the road.
“Even after the paving’s complete, some of the side work, some of the center median concrete and landscaping. So, they’ll be flagging operations but hopefully that’ll all happen after school. There will be some more work in front of the school. The pedestrian tunnel and ramps are not complete. The paving in front of that area will be two lanes wide. When they get the innermost retaining wall complete for the ramps, then they will backfill and then they will pour the curb and gutter and finish paving that. That’s still several weeks out but the road should function. It will be as wide as it used to be.”
The bus service to the school, and traffic from parents dropping off and picking up their children, will proceed as usual.
He said work is also continuing on the 500-space park n ride lot across the street from Ecker Hill. Radke expects that project will be wrapped up by mid-October at the latest.
“During the construction so far the contractor has detoured traffic through the parking lot. Some of that work has not been completed because of the detour. All that work is supposed to be done the first to mid-part of October. The paving will get done just as quick as all the underground lighting conduit is in and all the other electronic stuff that’s associated with that. There’s still curb and gutter and things like that. The bus pick-up area has to be poured and things like that. But that work is still on schedule.”
Meanwhile, they’re also rebuilding the roundabout at the Tanger Outlet Mall, which will involve some closures of traffic. He said that’s funded by a grant they obtained a couple of years ago.
“We’re not making it bigger necessarily. It’s being reconstructed, and the geometry’s being changed so that people can better figure out that it’s a two-lane roundabout as you’re westbound. Right now, it kind of jams up a little bit because people who drive it as a single lane the through traffic has to wait for the people turning into the stores to be able to get on through. So, it’ll work better. It’ll be all new construction. That work has started but the road will close Monday mornings at 6:00 am and re-open Friday at noon. That’s to allow the contractor to get in and get a lot of work done, and not have to fight traffic.”
He explained the detour that will be available around Tanger. That involves going west from 224 and navigating the roundabout near the Kimball Junction transit center.
“So, if you’re coming from Ute boulevard off of 224 and you want to get to Tanger or around; you take a left through the roundabout take a right on tech-center drive which turns into Overland. Off of Overland soon as you get down there is the back-roundabout into Tanger so that’s the primary access. If you’re trying to get around then you’ll just continue down Powderwood drive, turn on Kilby. It’s really a short delay if you’re trying to get through. It certainly will be inconvenient if you’re trying to go shopping at whole foods or one of those other retail outlets or restaurants down there and then you want to go to Tanger and you want to drive. Then you of course have got to go backwards. But if it’s a quick shopping trip, walk across the street, do your thing and come back.”
During this period, traffic out of Whole Foods will have to exit to the left, at least on weekdays. Radke said another alternative for visitors is to use the Kimball Junction Circulator.
Further west, he said they’re aiming to get the design work done on the revamp to the Jeremy Ranch Interchange on I-80.
“We’re still trying really hard to get an advertising some time in September. It keeps getting later and later but we’re still shooting for major construction come (20)19. Two roundabouts, two big ones everything come in to. The on and off ramps Eastbound come into the frontage road same thing on the other side. Everything comes into one big roundabout that’s about 260 feet across on the inside.”
Radke said they’re hoping that by this fall, they can accomplish some off-road items, like utility relocation and a pedestrian underpass.
