Cyclists to be detoured by work on Chagrin River bridges

The Cleveland Touring Club sent this informative email this morning:

Work on Chagrin River bridges will add to detours and extra miles already necessary for cyclists to avoid the closure of Old Mill between County Line Road and Mayfield Road. (When taking Old Mill east, the current cyclist detour it to take County Line Road south to Hillcrest Road east to Westchester Trail north.)

Two additional projects to replace or repair deteriorating bridges over the Chagrin River will overlap the work already begun on the Mayfield Road bridge. Mayfield Road is a good road for cyclists to avoid in ideal conditions because of heavy traffic. With the construction, only one lane will be open in each direction through August 31, 2010. Preconstruction work is scheduled from mid-April through mid-July on the River Road bridge near Old Mill Road in Gates Mills, which is scheduled to be replaced. There will be a temporary traffic light, and traffic will be reduced to one lane. A good detour for cyclists is the pedestrian bridge that is a hundred yards north of the bridge off the west side of River Road. You access it from a short sidewalk, and it’s easy to miss if you aren’t looking for it. Once you cross the bridge, you can turn left on Old Mill to return to River Road or turn right on Old Mill, left on Epping, and right on Beverly or Berkshire to bypass a blind turn on River Road.

The biggest challenge for cyclists will be the third bridge project--on River Road where Wilson Mills jogs from south to north. Construction will probably start in May and will take about three months (if we're lucky). The road will be completely closed during that time. Cyclists who take the trail through North Chagrin Reservation to Wilson Mills (or Ox Road to River Road going south) will only be able to turn north on River Road or west on Wilson Mills.