Standing water caused travel problems on a stretch of I-90 eastbound again Monday in Lakewood, this time serving as the cause of a crash. ODOT says the issue was caused by debris and calcium buildup in the drain.
Lanes were closed during rush hour while ODOT worked to clear the drain, and then again when a crash happened just hours after it reopened before noon Monday.
“The drain doesn’t need rebuilt at all. It’s structurally fine. It’s just there is some sort of blockage,” said Marissa McDaid, an ODOT spokesperson.
That’s the answer she gave regarding a stretch of highway between McKinley Avenue and Warren Road. Flooding and standing water has been a continuous problem for the last few years. And there’s no permanent fix anytime soon.
“There’s no construction project on the books as of now. But that can always happen in the future if we see there’s any type of calcified material blocking the drain.”
The lane was closed during rush hour but reopened hours later. One man says the water was the reason behind today’s accident where the only warning is a “high water” sign.
“If we can, we would want to get that lane back open to traffic but of course if it’s not safe we won’t be able to open it.”
But why was the road open in the first place? ODOT says it could have been due to a shift change or the crews needing to empty their pumping truck. No definitive answer.
The area saw similar issues back in 2015. The stretch was flooded twice in a week. At the time, ODOT said it was a coincidence.
Couple it with the issues we seen the recently, and some would say it’s now a full-blown problem.
So far the only solution from ODOT is to slow down if you see water there.
“You’ll want to slow down because any water on pavement changes the friction you have. You’re not going to be able to stop as easily.”