By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer
Mayor Bob Stefanik was elated when he was recently informed by the Ohio Turnpike Commission that North Royalton will be receiving funding for noise abatement walls. “We have been working on this for over six years,” said Stefanik. He noted that many hours have been spent attending meetings, lobbying officials and applying for grants to help mitigate the problems that North Royalton has experienced. “The hard work has finally paid off,” he said.
Earlier this month, they received word that three of the four projects that the city applied for were turned down. The three projects all related to drainage issues. Forty one projects requested funding. Twenty one projects from around the state received funding from the $5 million that was available this year through the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission and the Ohio Department of Transportation. Of the 21 projects, 14 were granted within Cuyahoga County, including drainage, pavement and noise abatement projects. The three projects that were denied included drainage issue near the Rt. 82/York Road area, the York Road ballfield area and the Edgerton Road/Valley Parkway/State Road area. The noise mitigation project that was accepted will totally fund the $999,500 project. The city’s proposal included the installation of a sixteen-foot sound wall that will be installed on the turnpike from York to Bennett Road areas, totaling about 3,600 feet. The proposal was based on a noise study that was completed in 2008.
During that time, the Turnpike Commission received a $500,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation to perform the noise study, along the 241 miles that run through Ohio. The study concluded that “while the report identifies noise sensitive areas (NSA), which predominantly consist of residential neighborhoods that may potentially be impacted by traffic noise and may be considered as a location for noise mitigation. The report also reviews numerous non-traditional noise abatement measures such as quiet pavement, noise insulation of receptor sites, land use planning and control, innovative noise barrier walls, acoustic panels, vegetation and other natural treatments.” After the study was completed, a pilot test took place in 2009 to measure noise mitigation on the Ohio Turnpike. Since 2007, North Royalton administration and representatives from the cities of Strongsville, Olmsted Falls and Berea, have joined to help address problems that their residents are experiencing from the Ohio Turnpike. Public meetings took place to gain insight from officials and residents about the problems that have continued revolving around the turnpike.
The turnpike runs through about six miles of North Royalton, through wards three, five and six. Noise has always been one of the main issues surrounding the Turnpike. Council President, Larry Antoskiewicz, who was then the Ward 5 Councilman, has been a major advocate over the years, representing the needs of the city of North Royalton on these issues. “I’m thrilled to death,” said Antoskiewicz. At first he was disappointed that the city didn’t receive the funding for the drainage projects, but still held hope for the noise mitigation. “I thought that this was something that I’d have to continue to fight.” The news of the grant came in on Wednesday, June 18. “I always thought the wheels were turning in the right direction,” he said, “I’m glad that they were able to come up with a funding source.”
Earlier this year, it was announced that a section that runs through North Royalton was to be part of the Ohio Turnpike Commission’s $110+ million that is being spent on Northern Ohio projects. The project that encompasses North Royalton includes a five-mile stretch from mile marker 159.8 to 164.8 in Cuyahoga County. This will start from the southeastern edge of Olmsted Falls through Berea, Strongsville and then into North Royalton. That construction began on March 31 and is expected to be completed on October 1.
At this point, the city has not been informed about the upcoming time frame or scope of the sound wall project. They will be meeting with turnpike officials to hammer out the details. “I’d be happy to start next year this time, but we are waiting for the details,” said Schmitzer. “We’ll take things slow and make sure they do it right.”