State Route 97 Closing for Rock Slide Repairs
ODOT & ODNR Partner in Mohican Memorial State Forest

ASHLAND (Monday, February 8, 2010) – A project to correct an unstable roadside rock slide along State Route 97, west of its intersection with State Route 3, in Ashland County is set to begin with a road closure on Monday, February 15. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) have been working together on this project in the Mohican Memorial State Forest since the summer of 2008.

The posted detour route is SR-3 north to State Route 39, west on SR-39 to State Route 95, west on SR-95 to SR-97, and reverse for southbound motorists. The road will reopen approximately March 8, 2010. 

The ODOT contractor for this project is Stable Construction Company of Painesville, Ohio. In addition to the work along SR-97, they are performing maintenance along U.S. Route 36 in Coshocton County as part of this contract. The total bid amount was $508,854. The estimated cost for the SR-97 portion is $435,736.   

The SR-97 project will perform limited corrective work on the unstable shale/sandstone cliff face adjacent to the roadway by removing trees, dislodging loose stone, and anchoring a high strength wire mesh slope ‘drape’ across the slope to direct rock fall into a catchment area. The intent of this project is to increase motorists’ safety by reducing the potential of rock fall impacting the traveling lanes of SR-97.

SR-97 runs tightly between a large outcropping of weathered shale and sandstone formation and the State Scenic Clear Fork of the Mohican River. The sandstone has been undermined by erosion and natural weathering of the underlying shale, causing rock debris to fall into the eastbound roadway ditch and onto the roadway. These rock falls create an unsafe condition for the traveling public & have been a significant problem in the past. This area is approximately 500 feet in length.

No work will be performed in the State Park or in the river below. Anchors will be installed at the top of the hillside and a high-strength wire mesh ‘drape’ will be attached to the cliff to keep additional rocks from falling onto the roadway below. The wire mesh ‘drape’ is environmentally friendly and expected to allow vegetation to grow around it. The slope ‘drape’ will run approximately 70 feet high x approximately 460 feet across the cliff. It will extend above the road to the top of the cut slope, and then an additional 25 feet.

More information about this project can be found online at www.dot.state.oh.us/dist3.

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