Car-maggedon has arrived in Akron.
Maybe that should be No-maggedon, based on rush hour Tuesday morning even as traffic volumes built up.
Starting early Tuesday morning, several ramps and lanes were closed at the highly traveled central interchange — the confluence of state Route 8 and Interstates 76 and 77 in Akron.
“We didn’t have any real big backups this morning,” Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Justin Chesnic said on Tuesday.
Activity picked up again after the work day ended at 5 p.m. Tuesday, with a few red brake lights showing in heavy traffic southbound from Route 8 into the interchange. But even so, all directions looked to be moving steadily.
The next phase was to begin at 3 a.m. Wednesday, when ODOT was to close the ramp from I-76 eastbound to I-77 southbound.
The state agency is urging motorists to use Interstate 277/U.S. Route 224 as a detour.
The work is part of a $15.6 million project to remove three bridges on I-76/I-77 over Johnston Street. The entire project is scheduled to be completed by late July 2017.
The closures are forcing many of the approximately 100,000 motorists who regularly use the interchange to take detours.
ODOT originally planned to start the highway project more than a week ago. But work was delayed at the last minute, with ODOT saying there wasn’t enough signage in place.
As of 9 a.m. Tuesday, traffic was flowing fairly smoothly, based on cameras monitoring city roadways. ODOT reported primarily temporary minor speed alerts and slowdowns here and there on the major highways in and around Akron even as car and truck traffic increased.
There was one traffic incident reported after 8 a.m. on state Route 8 near Perkins Street that slowed traffic. An ODOT camera showed a car off the side of the southbound lane of the Route 8 bridge, with backed-up traffic able to move around. The disabled vehicle temporarily closed the right lane. As of 8:45 a.m. the scene was clear and traffic was flowing smoothly.
Here’s a rundown of the closures happening as part of the project:
• I-76 between Grant Street and Inman Street is reduced to two lanes in each direction.
• The ramp from I-77 northbound to I-76 westbound is closed.
• The ramp from Route 8 southbound to I-77 northbound/I-76 westbound is closed.