Allega Way expected to alleviate traffic congestion

by Dan Holland

Richfield Village approved the construction of the Best Buy warehouse and distribution center in the Joint Economic Development District with Richfield Township with the stipulation that a roadway be built to handle the truck traffic. J.J.J. Properties LLC agreed to build a roadway at its expense that would provide a second access from Columbia Road to Brecksville Road, just north of Ohio Turnpike.

At present, all vehicles accessing the stretch of Columbia Road where Best Buy, Allega Concrete, a FedEx Ground depot and other businesses are located, have only one method of ingress and egress, resulting in significant traffic congestion at the Brecksville Road intersection. A busy Pilot service center with a Wendy’s restaurant is on the same corner.

In addition, another 32,000 square foot building is under construction by J.J.J. Properties. It will serve as a testing laboratory, warehouse, storage and repair center along with seven truck bays. They plan to employ between 35 and 50 people at the building, which is adjacent to the Ohio Turnpike.

The new roadway was planned for property where a Clark gas station on Brecksville Road had been razed. The village acquired the land parcel through the Summit County Land Reutilization Corporation, a land bank that supports reinvestment and development of properties following their acquisition and reclamation.

According to Richfield Village Mayor Michael Wheeler, delays in the road being built – which would be paid for completely by John Allega (J.J.J. Properties) and include new sanitary sewer and water lines – has been due mainly to ongoing bioremediation tests under the direction of the Bureau of Underground Storage Tank Regulations (BUSTR) and the county land bank.

“Because there was an old Clark gas station at the site, and before we can run a road across there, we have to prove that it’s not polluted,” he added. “As soon as we get the sign off, John Allega will have that road poured, paved and driven on in less than a month’s time.”

Wheeler explained that a series of 13 soil sample wells were dug on the site in expanding concentric rings to test for the presence of hydrocarbons in the ground. When detected, the materials are eradicated by the introduction of hydrocarbon-eating organisms.

 “They began not finding anything in the soil about 30 days ago,” explained Wheeler. “If they can go between 30 and 60 days without finding anything, then it’s just a matter of paper work … and then the road can be built.”

Wheeler said he is optimistic on receiving the “all clear” signal around mid-February, but he stressed that a specific date has not yet been established.

“We pushed for an end date, but [BUSTR] won’t commit,” he said. “But they’re very optimistic that it will be within the next 30 days. I told them about the absolute necessity of doing this is. When you put another 700 trucks back there at Best Buy, and it causes a traffic jam all the way to the [turnpike access] bridge, that’s not good.”

“Right now, you have just one way in and one way out,” Wheeler continued. “You have an emergency road going out to Black Road, but that’s not going to handle the truck traffic if they needed to use that. We had police officers there at least twice a week last month directing traffic because of the traffic jams. Allega Way will eliminate all of that.”

According to Richfield Police Chief Michael Swanson, FedEx paid for village police officers to direct traffic at the intersection of Brecksville and Columbia roads during peak holiday times in an effort to prevent gridlock.

“Having Allega Way will help with the traffic congestion in that area, especially now that the Best Buy distribution center is open along with the other pending construction in that area,” said Swanson. “Obviously, [the additional development] will increase the traffic on Brecksville Road, and as the area there and around us develops, so will the traffic. However, the traffic engineering performed in that area has taken that into account.” ∞

Featured picture: J.J.J. Properties is building Allega Way off of Brecksville Road for truck access to the Best Buy distribution center (left building.) Allega is constructing the building on the right for his company. It will serve as a testing laboratory, warehouse, storage and repair center. It will also have seven truck bays. Photo by D. Holland.