No homes, places of business or local tax dollars will be involved in improving the I-77/U.S. 62 interchange near the expanding Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton.
At a public meeting last night, the Ohio Department of Transportation said the plan involves only an addition of lanes to some already in place. So, there will be no new property acquisition., according to project finance planner Steve Rebillot.
“There might be a little bit with what we call little strip takes. And that’s it. Between the department and the hall, we’ve got everything pretty much accounted for now.”
Traffic designer Dawn Roxberry says the limited expansion is all that’s needed to handle what may be a ten-fold increase in visits to the Hall of Fame.
“They see a lot of their peaks on the weekends, which works out pretty well because that’s when all of our volumes on the interstate drop off. So it’s almost a counterbalance effect.”
The modest project’s price tag of $3.5 million will be covered entirely by state and federal funds.
