Safety Improvements Completed in 2020 Reducing Crashes at Two Locations in Cuyahoga County

CLEVELAND - A multi-part safety improvement project in the cities of Cleveland and Parma, completed in 2020, is seeing positive improvements.

In 2016, a project was initiated to make improvements at and near the I-480 and SR 94 (State Road) interchange after a review of crash data. During a three-year period from 2016 to 2018, there were an average of 40 crashes on State Road near the I-480 interchange and an average of 50 crashes per year on I-480 at State Road.

Construction began in February 2019 to create a dedicated right-turn only lane on westbound SR 17 (Brookpark Road) to northbound State Road, lengthening the turn slot on the I-480 westbound exit ramp to State Road, and the reconfiguration of travel lanes on State Road between Brookpark Road and Ralph/Burger Avenue.

In the three-year period since construction was completed, crashes on State Road near I-480 have been reduced by 13% and on I-480 at State Road have been reduced by 33%. Injury crashes have also been reduced by 30% on State Road and 47% on I-480.

"It's our goal to continue to install proven safety countermeasures to help reduce crashes," said ODOT District 12 Deputy Director John Picuri. "Seeing these positive results validates to us that these safety countermeasures are working and helping us achieve our mission to save lives." 

Coming up in 2025, safety improvements will begin at the I-271 northbound and Cedar-Brainard Road interchange in the city of Beachwood. Work will include adding capacity for vehicles to wait on the exit ramp to turn on Cedar-Brainard Road. This project will also modify I-271 northbound express lane entrance and exit near Fairmount Blvd. Work will begin this spring and is expected to be complete in fall 2026.

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Download aerial video of the safety improvement project.