Proposed interchange splits the battle of Boston Road between municipalities

For over four decades, the potential construction of an I-71 interchange loomed between Strongsville and Brunswick.

Fast forward now and the push for the interchange continues, as monetary resources await at the state level, but heavy pushback of those opposing it: “Say No to the Boston Road Interchange.”

Strongsville and Brunswick are bordering neighbors, but recently have found themselves disagreeing on the potential construction of an interchange at Boston Road, the road that separates the two cities. 

The thought is it would alleviate traffic and congestion at various locations of Strongsville, such as the current I-71 ramps at State Route 82, or Royalton Road, said Jim Carbone, Strongsville’s City Council president.

“When you look at southern Strongsville and all the developments and northern Brunswick, it’s a lot of traffic to have that long of a stretch (without an interchange),” he said. 

The large amount of shopping and eatery locations off of I-71 in Strongsville at 82 and the development of residential areas within the two cities, along with nearby ones, such as Columbia Station is increasing. For example, residential property is currently being developed in Strongsville at the intersection of 82 and Prospect Road, where approximately over 80 housing units are expected to be built, Carbone said. 

“It’s not going to get any better in the years to come because houses aren’t just going to go away, traffic is not just going to go away and actually there’s going to be a little bit more development,” he said.

On the contrary, an argument made to what Carbone said, is this proposed interchange will not alleviate traffic. Nick Hanek, Brunswick’s vice mayor and City Council president, is against an interchange at Boston Road, calling it “egregious.”

“Just the impact of absolute devastation over a traffic theory that everyone knows doesn’t work in 2023: building additional lanes, building additional interchanges – it doesn’t alleviate traffic, it creates traffic,” he said. “We all know this through what we’ve seen in Los Angeles, Houston…” 

In a concurrent rationale, Jack Marchbanks, the director of the Ohio Department of Transportation, or ODOT, thought the need for an interchange was not prominent. 

In a statement released Sept. 15 by Marchbanks he said, “The study did not provide an obvious solution to reduce congestion and decrease crash frequency.” 

Questioning the reasons for an interchange

Hanek said officials in Strongsville and state level officials, such as State Representative Tom Patton (R-Strongsville) are pushing the interchange for the wrong reasons.

“People, despite data, are pushing [the interchange] for their purposes, which is economic purposes,” he said.

Strongsville has four business parks in the city. In 2013, Strongsville officials believed they would extend the end of Foltz Industrial Parkway in Strongsville’s Business and Technology Park to Boston Road.

“There’s actually bad actors happening and doing something intentionally under false pretenses in order to serve their basic, fundamental goal: connecting [Strongsville’s] industrial park to a highway and they do not care what stands in their way,” Hanek said.

Carbone said 10-15 years ago, the vision included gaining greater access to Foltz Industrial Parkway, but is not true anymore. Now, Strongsville restructured the approach to the industrial park by planning to create a cul-de-sac that will never lead to Boston Road.

Ohio House Bill 23

Patton, like Carbone, said traffic is the issue and constituents spoke with him, giving grievances of the time it takes to travel throughout the cities, particularly on 82 and Howe Road, which dead ends into 82. 

As a result of these concerns to Patton, he co-sponsored Ohio House Bill 23, the state’s transportation budget for the fiscal year of 2024-2025. Within the legislative language, he added to the Ohio Revised Code under Sec. 5501.60, that an interchange must be constructed every 4.5 miles if it meets one of the following:

• A population of 35,000 or more according to the most recent federal decennial census.
• The municipalities are located in different counties.
• At least one of the municipalities is located in a county with a population over 1 million according to the most recent federal decennial census.

This change in legislation created discomfort with the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, or NOACA, a metropolitan planning organization which has been affiliated with the ideas and potential projects of an interchange at Boston Road, Hanek said.

“What [state legislators] did was write a law that allows to bypass the entire planning mechanism set up in this country for how you put interchanges in,” he said.

After multiple attempts by the reporter to get in contact with NOACA, a representative did not comment back on this matter.

However, an interchange at Boston Road would meet the criteria detailed in the state legislation, as according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Strongsville’s population is 46,491, as of April 1, 2020, and Brunswick’s population is 35,426, as of April 1, 2020. 

To add, the distance between the interchanges at 82 in Strongsville to State Route 303 in Brunswick is approximately 5.5 miles, Patton said. 

The interchange project would then receive funding from the state government because of the criteria met, he said.

“I’ve got the [monetary funding] covered through the state, because [Gov. DeWine] came up with $300 million in a very unprecedented highway safety fund,” he said. “So now the state will pay for all of it.”

The estimated costs of an interchange at Boston Road is between $25 million to $40 million which would cover the purchasing of homes, construction, labor and raw materials, Patton said. 

The residents of Boston Road and surrounding area

Acknowledging that homes would be bought up and then demolished for the interchange is something Hanek does not want to see his residents endure, he said. He furthered that point by emphasizing the continued development around the interchange, in the form of fast food restaurants and gas stations.

“I will not have my city be a big rest stop,” he said.

Others agree with Hanek’s stance and do not want to see homes of residents demolished, as Brunswick resident, Michelle Bolger, started a petition on change.org outlying that no interchange should be built.

Bolger, along with fellow advocates opposing the interchange who also live in Brunswick: Sue Mazzola and Shrea Kellums, did not respond back to comment on the matter at the reporter’s request.

While driving down Boston Road, along with other side streets in the area, it is clear how residents there feel, as their “Say NO to the Boston Road Interchange” signs stand at the forefront of their front yards. On the signs, a QR code presents itself leading scanners to a Facebook page under the name Brunswick Strong Towns.

Brunswick is a chapter of Strong Towns, a nonprofit media advocacy organization looking to make towns and neighborhoods better places, according to its website. 

In Strongsville, Ann Roff is a resident near the proposed interchange site and Strongsville’s Ward 2 council member. The proposed site of the interchange would be constructed in her ward.

In an Oct. 3 interview with Roff, she said her constituents regularly are contacting her on the issue, speaking about traffic and safety concerns in the area. Roff also received the stance that an interchange is not needed by other constituents. 

Roff said she is appreciative of entities such as NOACA and ODOT offering information and plans around the concerns presented. She hopes what they present as solutions will benefit the people of the ward she represents and all of Strongsville.

“I will entertain any and all options that are brought to us, as long as they are with due diligence behind them” she said. 

The next steps

For Brunswick, Hanek said a repeal against the interchange and House Bill 23 was introduced at the state level in the Ohio General Assembly. 

He said Ohio House Bill 276, sponsored by State Representatives Melanie Miller (R-City of Ashland) and Sharon A. Ray (R-Wadsworth), is currently in the process of being passed by the Ohio House. This bill proposed removing the requirement of constructing certain interstate interchanges, particularly the proposed one at Boston Road. 

Simultaneously, State Senator Mark Romanchuk (R-Ontario) introduced Ohio Senate Bill 155, which is currently in the process of being passed by the Ohio Senate. This bill also proposed similar language to what House Bill 276 stated, Hanek said.

“There are real tremendous hurdles to this, why I think the next steps will be very aggressive ones by the city of Strongsville, unless [the interchange] is repealed,” Hanek said. “ … they are trying to do whatever they can to get their project – there’s no negotiations, there’s no interest in working with others, no interest in working with the public…”

At this moment, Carbone said Strongsville City Council cannot take a vote on it, as the project’s authorizing sources come from entities such as NOACA and ODOT.