Engineer Hired to Fix Albion Road

The good news is the city found an engineering firm it can hire to fix where it is crumbling without the time-consuming process of getting bids.

The bad news is it's not an easy fix.

"It's not that simple," Mayor Tom Perciak said.

The road has been closed at the Albion Woods picnic area, near Valley Parkway, since May 10, when officials noticed the road had crumbled down a hillside.

Crews can't just go in and repave, though, because the asphalt is washed away down a steep hillside.

"We don't have enough room to work there," Service Director Joe Walker said. 

So instead of shoring up the pavement, it is likely the road will be realigned, shifting it away from the embankment onto right-of-way on the other side of the street, City Engineer Ken Mikula said.

Mikula said the steepness of the slope, coupled with water runoff created the erosion problem.

Meanwhile, that stretch of road will stay closed, with barricades at Handle Road on the east side and at Valley Parkway on the west.

Residents of the 13 homes west of Handle Road are permitted to use the road. 

Perciak said he has gotten calls from residents in that area, thanking him for the detour.

"They say it's quiet, it's nice -- it's like it used to be," he said.