Oh for pete's sake.

That street was in absolutely horrible condition. There are a ton of businesses and houses/condos back there. It has been on the paving list for years. I'm for it.

It was long overdue.

Maybe they'll put in a cutout for the MegaBus so passengers don't have to dodge traffic when claiming baggage.

Eh, what am I saying? That's against the plans that were drawn up 7 years ago...

A couple thoughts:

1. As government spending goes, I am probably most supportive of road repair and maintenance. Everyone benefits from well maintained roads, not the least of which is the reduction on wear and tear to front ends and suspensions on vehicles.
2. If an area is becoming blighted, infrastructure improvements like this can be part of a larger effort to attract and retain commercial tenants.
3. While commercial and retail traffic is down in the Southwyck area, Reynolds Road remains an important regional commuting artery, and it should be maintained properly regardless of the neighborhood's current economic struggles.

My guess is that the state of that road was a claimed obstacle to development of the 'mall' parcel. Hopefully, with the road project underway, there will be some movement on the rest of the real estate.

It certainly has been in horrendous condition. While it isn't a significant traffic artery, I'd rather see that road paved compared to some of the stupid projects certain city council propose.

Don't worry the Bell Admin is working on building a park somewhere to solve the problem.

While traffic is down 4,000 cars a day or so since the heyday of Southwyck Mall, Reynolds Road is still one of Toledo's busiest thoroughfares. Annual average daily traffic is over 18,000 vehicles according to TMACOG's traffic counts. By comparison Secor Road is about 28,000 vehicles per day, Alexis Road and the Anthony Wayne Trail a little under 10,000 vehicles per day, and Byrne Road about 26,000 vehicles per day. In addition, there is a ton of truck traffic on Reynolds, especially UPS, so the road probably takes a greater beating than some highways in town.

Like I've mentioned in other threads here...the city may as well throw a bunch of money at trying to redevelop Swayne Field.

Southwyck was the spot during the 1970's and 1980's. In the 1990's it was obvious the area had lost it's place as Toledo's premier shopping area. It's dead now, people will get over it, just like they got over Swayne Field dying in the 1960's.

Southwyck Blvd isn't a major artery, and just about every one of the office buildings along it has a for sale/lease placed on the lawn.

As low-priority as Southwyck Blvd is overall, I'm just happy to see road crews working again and new pavement being installed.

Thank God that they are fixing Sylvania Avenue. Hopefully next they can fix Commonwealth, which is over used and failed miserably after the botched sewer line replacement and resurfacing by Miller Brothers in 1991. It was a brand new road twenty years ago.... and started to FAIL 19.5 years ago. You can drive down it and see all the obvious cave-ins from the pizz poor job that Miller Brothers did. The city has been promising to repair Commonwealth for twenty years. I have the worthless letters to prove it. Always FIRST on the list. Always put off another year.

Sort of on topic: an indicator of fiscal and administrative compentence is a road repair schedule. Well managed cities set a fixed number of miles to repair and stick with that schedule. It averages the pain of inconvenience over time. Say, 8 miles per year.

Poorly managed cities defer road maintenance by stealing from the capital improvement budgets and then try to make it up all in one summer by ripping up every other road. 0 Miles per year, 0 miles the next year... 25 miles one summer.
(Welcome to that summer.)

"Southwyck Blvd isn't a major artery..."

By traffic counts, yes: it is a major artery, 6th Floor. You may not drive it regularly, but the intersections at Heatherdowns and Airport are among the busiest in the city. Please check out the city and county transportation sites if you doubt this.

Part of the reason why it is so busy is that Reynolds Road (after morphing into Conant Street) is one of the few ways people can get across the Maumee River, and in that part of town Reynolds is the only non-interstate method, except for swimming, walking, biking, or hang-gliding.

Mike, where does Southwyck Blvd. intersect with Heatherdowns and/or Airport?

https://maps.google.com/maps?oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&q=southwyck+blvd+toledo+map&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x883c79f214de1473:0x876ee33d565fb6a1,Southwyck+Blvd,+Toledo,+OH+43614&gl=us&ei=B7i_T63uBYGiiQKP5oGICA&oi=geocode_result&ved=0CAsQ8gEwAA&mid=1337964556

If you are talking about Reynolds, I agree with you, but I don't believe Southwyck Blvd is a major artery. I haven't posted that Reynolds isn't a major artery...it certainly is.

Yikes - I must be senile today. Every time I read "Southwyck Boulevard" my brain translated this as Reynolds Road. My bad.

Thank you, 6th_Floor. I didn't want to be the one to point out that everybody was confusion Southwyck Blvd. with Reynolds Rd. LOL!

I drive on it nearly every day to get into and out of my neighborhood. I'm glad to see this done.

The road looked like it hadn't been repaved since the mall was built. This will be one less eyesore in a part of town that could use some sprucing up.

Secor Rd is in terrible condition. Like driving over moonscape near the old showcase cinema.

I find it funny that there isn't money for road repairs, but I'm always noticing the street cleaners everywhere. Like we need the streets cleaned that much?
Park the street cleaners and use the funds to fix the roads.

Street sweeping is more than just making the pavement look pretty, hockeyfan. The sweepers significantly reduce the amount of pollutants that get into the watershed, and street sweeping reduces the amount of material that causes sewer backups, meaning fewer and less severe problems with flooding and cleanouts.

I read somewhere that the city of Toledo collects 20-25 pounds of road debris per resident each year, but I cannot seem to find a link for that data.

And then since they did 25 miles in one summer, those 25 miles last 7-10 years before ALL requiring repair AGAIN in one go.

And it should have been done this year but for the fact that the Douglas exit/entrance is closed due to construction along with the Monroe to 475 entrance. What I wonder is, if assuming there's suitable rear entrances to businesses, and they are able to work 16 hour days on it, how fast could they do a full-depth pavement repair on Secor if they closed the entire stretch between Monroe and Central? Two weeks? Three? And would the impact to businesses be lower overall than taking four months alternating sides of the road? Hell, they might get a lower bid on it for not having to maintain business accesses and how much easier it could be to do.

Also better to do this than have it go clog up the drains and then have the sewer department deal with that.

The road I'm dying to see fixed is the section of Haverhill near the expressway onramp/offramps. Holy crap it's so rippled it about breaks my back and wrecks my kidneys whenever I ride my Harley through there.

Agreed, Jeepmaker: I drove that small stretch yesterday and it is filled with large holes. I had to spend more time trying to avoid the chuckholes than watching other cars.

They're doing Broadway/Summit at the bottom of the AW Bridge, too. It was freaking ridiculous trying to get to Toledolatina's house from the East Side Thursday! Today when I needed to go to UTMC for blood work, I went up 280 from walbridge to the Greenebelt and across town to the Trail to avoid the South End. Hope the businesses don't suffer too much. Are they doing this to handle the traffic that has to detour thru town when the bridge closes? Nice that they're funneling people south to Rossford and Miami JUST as the casino is opening, lol. What a cluster.

There are about 3 different spots on Sylvania avenue between Secor and Douglas that look like they are going to collapse fairly soon. They are each about 6 feet from the south curb. You can see that the pavement is sinking and is beginning to break.
Of course, the city will wait for the collapse before fixing it.

Here's an idea get about 10-20 of your buddies, find the street address of your "favorite" local politician, and pick a time and meet at said address and slowly drive past their house back and forth when they need to get out of their driveway to get to "work".

I don't get it. Why?

Shrug, just something to annoy them I guess, guess going out with shovel and pick and putting pot holes in there roads is just as dumb an idea as my first one.

AC said: "What I wonder is, if assuming there's suitable rear entrances to businesses, and they are able to work 16 hour days on it, how fast could they do a full-depth pavement repair on Secor if they closed the entire stretch between Monroe and Central? Two weeks? Three?"

Why not 24/7 until it's complete? I've NEVER understood why we can't have round the clock crews working on major projects such as the 475 mess.

And I don't want to hear about the noise it may cause after hours. You live next to a freaking x-way. There will be noise.

LC said: "Here's an idea get about 10-20 of your buddies, find the street address of your "favorite" local politician, and pick a time and meet at said address and slowly drive past their house back and forth when they need to get out of their driveway to get to "work"."

Or, we see what shape the roads in their neighborhoods are in and compare to the rest of the city.

You may have guessed that the condition of our roads is a major complaint of mine. For crying out loud, this is one thing that the city SHOULD be doing. Certainly before we pour millions into so called crime prevention cameras and re-do Promenade Park. I'm all for making downtown more attractive to get butts with wallets full of $$ down there but let's focus on the roadways that get us there first.

Just guessing but I'd bet that well maintained roads would do far more to attract visitors/potential new city residents than a 5 star hotel.

Southwyck Circle needed repaving 15 years ago. In fact, when Stautzenberger College was located there, they petitioned the mayor to repave it. It was not Mike Bell, it was his predecessor (I won't mention his name but his initials are C.F.) The project was not approved. Where is that college now?
Arrowhead Park in Maumee.

Because engineering-wise there's just some stuff you can't do... concrete has to cure, ground has to settle, that sort of thing... and you're also talking availability of the asphalt/concrete plants to be willing to operate at odd hours too. Some of this isn't work you can bring 3 shifts in to do like a job at Jeep or Powertrain.

Czarty da Fink gets results!

Foodie,

The closing of Secor Rd for complete Road construction is not possible because Fire and Police protection must be provided for and maintained for all Bussiness and/or Residents during the construction process.

One last Question. You suggest crews work seven (7) days a week to complete the Project. Well I ask You would You be willing to work seven (7) days (No days off period) for a extended period of time?
I have poised that Question to other People when they suggest that Idea. Their response was "NO, I need time off."

Shut down half and make one side 2 way traffic, will suck and make project take longer but traffic must be maintained.

No, whitehouse, I'm not asking for a single crew to work 7 days a week nor did I ask for Secor to be completely shut down. Two or three shifts, staggered days off between them and, as LC pointed out, there's an alternative.

AC: a project the size of the 75/475 mess could certainly be engineered to work on other phases while concrete cures. As for the concrete/blacktop sources, if they want to do business with the state on such a huge project, they'll find a way to provide the material 24/7 if need be. That's the marvelous thing about private enterprise - it conforms to the need of it's customers.

When I lived in Massachusetts many years ago, the bulk of the road construction was done at night during non-peak traffic hours. It made for much more pleasant commutes during the day. Can't speak for their condition today, but that state had some mighty well maintained roads at the time.

One last Question. You suggest crews work seven (7) days a week to complete the Project. Well I ask You would You be willing to work seven (7) days (No days off period) for a extended period of time?
I have poised that Question to other People when they suggest that Idea. Their response was "NO, I need time off."

????

Um...plenty of companies do business 7 days a week, but that doesn't mean that every single staff member works a 7 day a week schedule.

I've done a seven day work schedule, and while it isn't any fun at the time the reward$ can compensate for any lack of fun the worker may suffer. Essentially, you put most of your life on hold until the work schedule returns to 40 hours a week. The caveat is that you, the worker, must make sure that you get paid for the time you put into the project. I was working as a contractor, which means I was paid hourly. Hey, if the client wants 7 days, 12 hours a day, then all I can say is that the client is paying the freight.

Like Foodie, I saw construction in Florida performed during off peak hours. I also saw road construction that really did run 24/7. It seemed to work okay for Florida, but Ohio isn't Florida.

A few years ago in St. Louis, they shutdown a 10 mile stretch of I64/40 ( THE central artery in St. Louis) to completely rebuild the highway and interchanges from the dirt up. They closed and rebuilt one 5 mile stretch in 2008 and closed and rebuilt the other 5 mile stretch in 2009 with reopening of the completed highway in December, 2009. Once again, they did the entire roadway PLUS a complete redesign and rebuild of all exit ramps. <two years. You can't tell me the same can't be done (in some part) here because of weather, scheduling, crew preference to work days, etc. B.S.

You can read an overview of the project here and here

Crews worked 6 days/nights a week to complete. No overnights, but work went well into the evening.

It was a pain in the ass for commuters at times, but when that road reopened it was a tremendous improvement and it took less than two years to re-do a highway, all bridges, and interchanges that are expected to last for decades. At the time, it was estimated that this project would have taken 9 years to complete if traffic had been counterflowed/continued on the highway (i.e. orange barrels). People bitched, complained, imagined a "traffic Armageddon", etc...but in the end, you just found other ways to get around.

IMO, Secor could be shut down and rebuilt in no time. I wish they'd do something similar on the 475 project too. I saw first hand how well the St. Louis project went.

Oh...one big incentive: The project was given a firm deadline of 2 years from start to finish. If the project finished early, the construction firm got a $2 million bonus. You think that motivated these guys a little?