It will be mid-October before upper Lancaster Street reopens to traffic between Ohio 7 and Fair View Lane.
Meanwhile, residents like Delmar Thomas will have to find another way off of Harmar Hill.
"I've been using Maple Street (Extension). It's the most convenient for me, and the traffic hasn't been too heavy," said Thomas, who lives near the closed segment of Lancaster Street.
The road, closed since Friday, is a well-traveled route that carries traffic along the steep hillside to Ohio 676 west and other areas atop Harmar Hill.
"We're redoing the stormwater drainage pattern, putting in a new double-shaft reinforced retaining wall, installing a new section of sidewalk and slightly widening and resurfacing that area of Lancaster Street," city engineer Joe Tucker explained.
He said construction on the $387,000 project, contracted to Shelley & Sands Inc., is expected to be completed in 90 days.
"This first phase will take care of a major amount of stormwater drainage coming off the hill that also affects areas located on the lower side of Ohio 7," Tucker said.
The initial phase will extend up Lancaster Street to an area about halfway up the hill from Ohio 7. A second phase, which has not yet been scheduled, will complete the project to the top of the hill near Fairview Lane.
"We just didn't have enough funding to do the entire project at once," Tucker said.
Marietta fire Chief Tom Dempsey said the 90-day road closing will affect runs from Fire Station 4, located on Lancaster Street near the top of the hill.
"If our units have to drop off the hill, they can use Maple or Pearl streets," he said. "And ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) is also working on 676 out to the Churchtown area, which is a main route for us. But they generally do a good job of stopping traffic and letting us through when there's an emergency."
Mayor Michael Mullen said the Lancaster Street project has probably been 10 years in the making.
"It's an important access to the Harmar Hill area, as well as an important connector to Ohio 676 west," he said. "We've tried to find the best way to do this project in order to assure that the stability of the roadway is secured for the long term."
Mullen said the project will result in a better road, as well as address some long-standing drainage issues and provide a safe sidewalk, guardrails and other upgrades in that area.
During the Lancaster Street closing, local traffic can detour from Ohio 7 onto Maple Street Extension and Pearl Street Extension to access Harmar Hill neighborhoods. And traffic bound for Ohio 676 to Churchtown may travel along Gilman Avenue and turn west onto Groves Avenue, which intersects Ohio 676 at the top of the hill.
Maple Street Extension is also the recommended detour route for motorists traveling to the Marietta Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. Staff members suggest that visitors turn west on Maple Street off Fort Harmar Drive (Ohio 7), then turn onto High Street at the top of the hill and follow High Street to the nursing and rehab center's back parking lot.
