'Most Expensive Section of Road' in Strongsville to be Fixed

The city has hired a contractor to fix  that has kept the street closed since May 2011.

The long-in-coming repair has been delayed for two reasons, officials said:

• It's a complicated piece of engineering that will require 40 pylons to shore up an embankment.

• It's expensive -- about $650,000.

"It's probably the most expensive section of road, per foot, in town," Ward 4 Councilman Scott Maloney said.

The road has been closed at the Albion Woods picnic area, near Valley Parkway, since May 10, 2011, when officials noticed the road had crumbled down a hillside.

It has since deteriorated further, with cracks running almost to the middle of the road.

City Engineer Ken Mikula said an engineering firm has determined the best way to handle the problem is to install 40 pylons to shore up the pavement.

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

He said this week that he will meet soon with the contractor to determine a timetable for the road work.

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