If your daily routine takes you through the downtown Akron intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and Main, Howard and Perkins streets, you’re going to want to find a new routine for a while.
Starting Feb. 6, that intersection — infamous for being the highest accident-prone roadway in the region — will be closed for six months so the Ohio Department of Transportation can permanently detach it from the state Route 59 Innerbelt.
The beginning of construction will also mark the end of a large part of the Innerbelt, which will be permanently closed north of the Dart Avenue exit ramp.
“Once this project is complete, the corridor and that intersection will be much safer for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic,” Akron’s Public Service Director John Moore said.
The work is the first step in the city’s long-range vision for removing the Innerbelt altogether, a project it calls the Oak Park Renewal Project because it will serve to reconnect the historic Oak Park neighborhood around Glendale cemetery to downtown Akron.
Local officials have said the Innerbelt, opened in 1969, cut that section of town off from the central business district, which led to loss of businesses and economic hardships in the neighborhood.
The city hopes the project will reverse that trend.
If the city realizes its goal, one possible suggestion for the reclaimed land is a new residential area with green space and a water feature.
During the ODOT closure, Akron will also perform an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandated sewer separation project on the same intersection. That improvement is expected to eliminate 39 combined sewer overflows (4.1 million gallons of overflow) in a typical year.
“We worked very closely with ODOT to ensure that the intersection was only closed one time and for the shortest duration possible,” Mayor Dan Horrigan said. “Both the city and ODOT are committed to improving our public infrastructure, while simultaneously enhancing public safety.”
Signs alerting drivers to the upcoming closure will be posted this week.
More information and maps with detour suggestions can also be found at DriveAkron.com.
Paula Schleis can be reached at 330-996-3741 or pschleis@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/paulaschleis.