CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Opportunity Corridor project has received $29 million from the state for full-bore planning.
The $324 million project would link Interstate 490 with University Circle by way of a 3 1/2-mile boulevard through Cleveland's East side neighborhoods.
Money for the long-sought project is starting to fall into place. Community leaders back the plan as a way to move traffic more quickly to the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and other large employers in University Circle.
They also believe the four- to six-lane boulevard, featuring multiple intersections, will draw development to some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods.
The $29 million isn't new. The Ohio Department of Transportation, working with an advisory committee on big-budget projects, targeted the money a while ago for Opportunity Corridor, said ODOT spokeswoman Amanda Lee.
The state Controlling Board voted Monday to give ODOT the authority to send the money along.
“This money will keep the project moving,’’ Lee said in an email.
The money will be added to an existing, $5.3 million contract with HNTB Ohio, Inc., which has done preliminary engineering and an environmental-impact study.
The new funds will pay HNTB to finish the environmental documents and craft detailed plans for the road’s layout and construction.
Among long-time supporters of the project is State Rep. Armond Budish, whose office announced the release of state money.
Opportunity Corridor “will better integrate the local streets with the larger roadways, making the area a catalyst for property development, neighborhood investment and jobs,” Budish, a Beachwood Democrat, said in a news release.
The project has a long way to go. Federal transportation officials still must approve the plan. And multiple sources must deliver large chunks of funding.
Cuyahoga County Council is considering an $11 million investment, which would help leverage $44 million for the project’s first stage, widening and rebuilding East 105th Street from Chester to Quincy avenues.
Cleveland plans to invest $12 million. The city and the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Cleveland-area district are applying for $215 million from the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission.
Opportunity Corridor is among multiple, competing requests across northern Ohio for turnpike money. The turnpike will soon issue $1 billion in bonds to finance big road projects in northern Ohio, backed by toll increases.
Opportunity Corridor could be done by 2019 if funds fall into place. The plan has broad support but some opposition too.
Some rancor is expected because the state would buy and demolish 90 homes, businesses and other structures in the project’s path.
Critics believe the $324 million is better spent repairing roads that serve University Circle and bolstering options like transit and cycling.