Howe-Shurmer Corner to Be Redesigned

Strongsville is taking the next step toward making the corner of Howe and Shurmer roads a little less annoying.

City Council this week agreed to start looking for an engineering firm to design plans to fix the intersection so traffic flows more smoothly.

"It won't be that much different, but it will be more like what you see at Drake and Howe," City Engineer Ken Mikula said.

The solution will entail widening both roads at that corner and:

• Installing a proper-length left-turn lane onto Shurmer for traffic traveling north on Howe.

• Adding a left-turn lane for Shurmer traffic turning onto Howe.

• Putting in a right-turn lane for southbound Howe Road traffic to turn onto Shurmer.

The recommendations came from Euthenics Inc., an engineering firm hired last year to do a preliminary study of the three-way intersection, which some motorists have dubbed the worst in Strongsville.

Drivers complain that Shurmer traffic trying to turn onto Howe often has to wait several minutes for the light to change.

After the project is done, the signals will be adjusted for the new pattern, Mikula said.

Cost of the project is estimated at $1.5 million.

Mikula said fixing traffic snarls at that intersection will help when the city tackles bigger problems at Howe and Royalton roads.

"This is a building block for the rest of it," he said.