CLEVELAND, Ohio – Motorists traveling downtown will see a series of lane restrictions for a couple of weeks, starting on Wednesday, but the work is anything but temporary.

These minor inconveniences through March mark the early staging for what will be a major repair job on the central interchange area of Interstates 90 and 77 just south of Progressive Field.

It’s going to take six years and $328 million to rebuild and modernize the highway and bridge network in the short stretch from Ontario Street to Carnegie Avenue. Some of these bridges date back to the 1960s when the Innerbelt was being constructed.

The bad news for motorists – 144,000 a day pass through the area at its busiest points – is that lane closings and lane shifts will be common.

The good news is that the highways will remain open throughout, other than some brief closings during off-peak hours.

The traffic changes this week are for East 14th Street from the I-77 north exit ramp to Orange Avenue, the Ohio Department of Transportation said.

This follows some short-term restrictions elsewhere earlier this winter. But the bigger work – and bigger inconveniences – will come later this year.

This will include weekend closings of I-90 – one direction at a time – for bridge demolitions.

The timetable has not yet been worked out, an ODOT spokesperson said, but here’s what to expect this year:

• Removal of the Cedar Road bridge over I-90.
• Removal of the Community College Avenue bridge over East 14th Street.
• Reconstruction of the bridge from I-90 west to I-77 south.
• Pavement work on I-90, I-77, East 14th and East 22nd streets, and Carnegie, Cedar, Central and Community College avenues.

“Anytime we have construction, it’s going to be an inconvenience. It will be a little slower to get from one side of town to the other side of town,” local ODOT spokesperson Brent Kovacs said.

Oftentimes, the first days of changes are the worst, before some drivers either begin taking suggested detours or find their own detours around problem areas.

“We find the first two weeks of a new lane restrictions or closures are the most chaotic,” Kovacs said.

This section of Interstate 90 south of downtown Cleveland is undergoing a major overhaul over the next few years. (File photo)John Pana, cleveland.com

Key work in 2027 is to include reconstruction of the East 22nd Street bridge over I-90, the Carnegie Avenue Bridge over I-90 and the bridge from I-90 west to I-77 south.

Portions of the work will stretch for years as ODOT progresses through the timetable, wrapping up the project with pavement work on I-90, I-77 and several adjacent streets in 2032.

The overarching goal is to bring the area up to modern highway standards for better flow of traffic and improved safety. But there will be some permanent changes.

Community College Avenue will be closed for good between East 14th and East 22nd streets, and the Cedar Avenue bridge over I-90 will be permanently removed.

Perhaps the biggest change will be at East 22nd Street.

A new East 22nd Street bridge will be constructed next to the site of the former juvenile justice center building. It is being billed as a pedestrian-friendly link between the Central neighborhood and the Cleveland State University area of downtown.

When finished, the 121-foot-wide bridge will have about as much space set aside for pedestrians, bicyclists and landscaping as it will for the five lanes of traffic – two in each direction, plus a turn lane.

Plans for the new East 22nd Street bridge over the downtown Cleveland Innerbelt call for space for pedestrians, bicyclists and landscaping.Ohio Department of Transportation