Trumbull County plans to pave Addison Road between Routes 62 and 82 this year, but there might be another change on the Masury road. Trumbull County Deputy Engineer Gary Shaffer said he will conduct a study to see if he can remove the stop signs on Addison at Judson Road, leaving only the stop sign on Judson.
“There’s no need for those stop signs,” Shaffer said at the engineer’s office’s annual meeting with the Brookfield trustees on Feb. 5. “It causes more of a problem, people betting on if cross traffic will stop or not.”
Trustee Dan Suttles noted that traffic has lessened since Addison School was closed.
The Addison contract was awarded last year to the Shelly Co. of Twinsburg. Before Shelly begins work, Suttles asked that the engineer’s office take a look at the section of Addison between Dutch Lane and Route 62. The condition of that section always seems to be worse than the rest of the road, he said.
Shaffer said the uneven wear might be caused by the stop action of vehicles, and he will take a look at it.
“If we gotta go deeper, put more asphalt on it, we’ll do it,” he said.
In the spring, the engineer’s office will advertise for bids for county road paving projects, including Brookfield Avenue in Masury, and on the township’s extensive paving list of 30 roads. Brookfield Road Superintendent Jaime Fredenburg said he expects most if not all of the work will be done in 2025 because the bulk of the funding comes from the Ohio Public Works Commission’s Issue 1 program, and that money is not released until July 1.
Shaffer held out hope that the Issue 1 projects could be done this year, especially if a smaller or middle-sized contractor gets the work. Larger contractors likely will focus on doing federal contracts first, he said.
The county is responsible for bridges on county and township roads and all 19 in Brookfield are in good shape, Shaffer said. A small bridge on the south end of Bedford Road rates only a 3 on a scale of 1 to 9, with 9 being in the best condition. Because of its size, it still might last a while, so officials will keep an eye on it, Shaffer said.
In terms of maintenance issues, the county will focus on cleaning ditches and trimming trees on the county roads in Brookfield, said Highway Supt. Tom Klejka.
Suttles asked Klejka to examine the storm water pipe under Broadway Avenue between Second and Third streets. It appears the pipe has separated, Suttles said.
Although Shaffer already has announced that he would like to move the utility poles on the north side of Warren Sharon Road between Brookfield Avenue and the top of the hill farther from the road, Trustee Mark Ferrara asked him to continue to consider other measures to make that road safer.
That section was the scene of a double-fatal traffic crash over the summer. The Safe Communities Coalition, a group of county and law enforcement officials that examines every fatal crash in the county, has talked about this one, which was caused by driver error, Shaffer said.
Ferarra said he would like to see more lighting and possibly arrows on the road to better indicate the bends in the roadway and the narrowness of the road.
Suttles suggested putting rumble strips in the middle of the road, but county officials said residents would complain of the noise.
“I was thinking doing RPMs, instead, the raised pavement markers, the reflectors down the center,” Shaffer said. “I think that would be better.”
Shaffer added he’s open to additional discussion, especially if the utility companies balk at moving the poles.
“Keep that on the list to be addressed again,” Ferrara said. “I know it’s not an easy fix. We’re gonna ask about it from time to time.”
The Ohio Department of Transportation is planning to repave the deck of the bridge on Route 7 in Yankee Lake, south of Thompson Sharpsville Road, said ODOT spokesman Justin Chesnic.
“The work to this structure is part of a much larger bridge repair project to various bridges in Ashtabula, Mahoning and Trumbull counties,” Chesnic said. “It is scheduled to begin construction sometime this summer with a completion date of June 30, 2025. I don’t have the exact date yet when this bridge will have the work performed. At least one lane of traffic will be maintained during the work on SR 7.”
Later this year, ODOT plans to award a contract to pave Route 7 between Drake State Line Road in Hartford and Route 82 in Brookfield.
“Although the project sells late (goes out for bid) this year, work won’t officially begin until spring 2025,” he said.
