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HUBBARD -- The city's safety director gave an update about one of the ongoing improvements expected to be completed by winter.
Safety Director Shawn Rentz reported to residents and council members at Monday's regular meeting that, although notified a little late, he had reached out to Mayor Ben Kyle's contact at the Ohio Department of Transportation to explore means of alleviating commercial traffic caused by Enbridge Gas Ohio's project.
"The way they have it, you see how narrow it is there; they do what's called a drive-wise messaging, instant-cap messaging," Rentz said.
Rentz said he spoke to Leonard Blankenship, a district work zone traffic manager with ODOT and Traffic Data & Applications Lead Timothy Filla about the messaging, which was put in place Friday.
"This says, 'No southbound traffic or no southbound through traffic at Exit 234 A and B, stay on (Interstate) 80 Eastbound.' So they gotta find another way to get through -- that's at 80," Rentz said. "At (Interstate) 76 and at state Route 11, it's a preemptive message that just says, 'No southbound traffic at 234, and it gives them, or it tells them, to use an alternative route."
Rentz said he didn't see much in the area over the weekend, but he told Kyle that he saw some trucks come through the road -- one of which was carrying a wide load.
"He was sticking over the northbound lane a little bit; I'm going to give ODOT a call, speak to them again," Rentz said. "See if they can do something and see if maybe we can get one of the PUCO (Public Utilities Commission of Ohio) to come out and sit in the township. I don't know if they'll do anything in the city, but they will sit in the township -- kind of give them (drivers) a wake-up call."
Embridge's project, which began Sept. 8, involves replacing roughly 5,400 feet of bare steel lines with corrosion-resistant plastic lines.
The work is scheduled to be completed by mid-December and is being done on Liberty Street between Bentley Avenue and just past Oak Knoll Drive; Main Street between East Liberty Street and East Water Street; School Street between North Main Street and Stewart Street; Walnut Street between North Main Street and Mackey Street.
It's a part of the company's Pipeline Infrastructure Replacement Program, which began in 2008 to replace more than 5,500 miles of gas lines in its service area.