State to Provide Strongsville Funds for I-71 Slip Ramp

STRONGSVILLE, OH — The effort to build a slip ramp that would take traffic directly from Interstate 71 to Howe Road won a major victory Thursday when the Ohio Department of Transportation awarded the city $3.5 million for construction.

Strongsville Mayor Thomas Perciak announced ODOT's decision to award funding for the ramp — which would allow traffic to bypass the Royalton-Howe intersection — in a Facebook post Thursday. The ramp should help anyone trying to drive toward the southern end of the city and into Brunswick.

The construction plan would also make some changes to the existing roads. Howe Road will be widened to five lanes North of Shurmer Road. Drivers on the slip ramp will have the choice to continue southbound on Howe Road, go straight down Shurmer Road or head North on Howe Road.

But don't get too excited, construction on the project is slated to begin in 2019 and the city still has to find alternative funding to cover the rest of the costs, which total an expected $7.7 million. Still, it's a far-cry from 2013 when Mayor Perciak told Patch, "At this point, it's just a dream."

[Photos courtesy of Strongsville]