What to expect in 2022 as Green prepares for Massillon Road construction, part two

Commuters and other motorists along Massillon Road in Green will start the New Year cruising on an upgraded section that’s free of construction zones and detours.

The city recently completed the first phase of its $15 million effort to improve traffic flow along the busy thoroughfare, and project manager H.R. Gray delivered ahead of schedule.

Now comes the hard part.

More: Green mayor says traffic woes will lead to better flows with city’s Massillon Road project

By spring, phase two of the project will become evident as utility work begins on the most heavily traveled stretch of pavement in the city. By summer, construction should begin.

Two blocks, and 24,000 vehicles a day.

Both Mayor Gerard Neugebauer and city engineer Paul Pickett acknowledge the upcoming construction will be a headache for many drivers. But they say the improvements will position the city for increased traffic flows — more than 40,000 vehicles a day by 2035 — for decades to come and minimize the impact on businesses along the construction zone.

“You’re going to know you’re under construction for a year-and-a-half,” Neugebauer said in a Dec. 15 interview at the contractor’s command post on Massillon Road.

The good news is that access to businesses along the construction route will not be blocked — and, of course, traffic flow will be smoother when the project is completed.

“The detours will vary… [but] Massillon Road will never be closed,” Pickett said.

The first part of the project, about a half-mile long, added three roundabouts — at state Route 619, Stein Road and Raber Road. The circular features have some critics, but they allow increased traffic without adding a sea of pavement, Neugebauer said. To help drivers who find the roundabouts counterintuitive, the city put together a video available on YouTube at https://bit.ly/3pDJ6du.

“We are not going to build more pavement on Massillon Road,” Neugebauer said. “We’re not going to have nine lanes.”

Aided by reduced traffic at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, construction crews completed phase one ahead of schedule. Pickett said unanticipated tweaks have to be confronted on any project, but comity between the city and construction companies minimized potential hiccups in the process.

“The most positive thing was the way the team worked together,” he said. “The collaborative spirit among everybody was unusual.”

Before the project, the corridor was the 16th highest arterial crash section in Summit-and Portage counties.

The mayor predicts that will change considerably, especially when the project is completed.

“It’s not about building roundabouts, but it’s about building effective transportation systems,” Neugebauer said. “I can’t say that enough.”

He said the city’s growth has necessitated the improvements to its main roads. According to the 2020 census, Green grew 6.9% to 27,475 residents in the last decade, surpassing Barberton to become the county’s fourth largest city. It's projected to have a capacity of 43,000 residents, but that's likely decades away.

“We have a constant stream of projects because we are a thriving, growing city,” Neugebauer said.

Future projects could include improvements to Arlington Road that would add a roundabout between state Route 619 and Boettler Road. That wouldn’t begin before 2025 and is contingent on funding.

In the long, long, view, Neugebauer expects driverless vehicles will eventually become part of the city’s traffic equation. As the vehicles come into use for delivery and other purposes, he anticipates they will actually help decrease accidents.

For now, though, drivers will have a new Massillon Road construction zone to contend with this year as part of Green’s growing pains.

“You just can’t take all the sting out of a project,” Pickett said. “But you try.”

Leave a message for Alan Ashworth at 330-996-3859 or email him at aashworth@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @newsalanbeaconj.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: 2022 brings part two of Green's $15 million Massillon Road project