A portion of the Memorial Bridges Loop, a shared-use path that will give Ontario and Huron a road diet, begins on Monday, June 22. Credit: City of Cleveland

Downtown Cleveland’s second protected bike/running path is breaking ground next week.

Starting Monday, the Ohio Department of Transportation will be blocking off the south lanes of Huron and Ontario so that construction of the Memorial Bridges Loop, a wraparound shared-use path linking Downtown and Ohio City, can begin.

Three miles in total length, the $1.5 million project—funded with city bonds and federal grants—will line two of Downtown’s widest streets with a two-way path for cyclists and runners. .

The full Loop, outlined in yellow. Credit: City of Cleveland

The Loop, which runs from downtown to Ohio City over the Hope Memorial Bridge and back again over the Veterans Memorial Bridge, will add new high-flashing crossing signals and middle-of-the-street refuge islands, engineering plans show. And for bike riders, green-hued crossings, left-turn queues and shared-use centerlines.

A road diet will shrink Ontario by up to 50 feet of roadway width in some parts.

The intersection has been a dangerous one, as thousands use it to make way to Rocket Arena and Progressive Field. Fifteen serious injuries, three deaths and 132 car crashes have happened in the vicinity in the past decade, data shows.

Here’s the full list of traffic impacts in effect from June 22 to the middle of November:

  • Huron Road and Ontario Street between the Detroit-Superior Bridge and the Lorain-Carnegie Bridge will experience various lane restrictions.
  • Huron Road eastbound between Detroit Avenue and Ontario Street will be reduced to a single lane. Additional turn lanes provided at intersections.
  • Ontario Street southbound between Huron Road and Carnegie Avenue will be reduced to a single lane.
  • Detroit Avenue eastbound at Huron Road will be reduced to one left-turn lane and one combined through/right-turn lane. The bicycle lane will merge with vehicle traffic through the intersection.
  • Parking restrictions may also occur on Huron Rd. between W. 3rd. St. and Superior (northside/westbound)

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Mark Oprea is a staff writer at Scene. He's covered Cleveland for the past decade, and has contributed to TIME, NPR, Narratively, the Pacific Standard and the Cleveland Magazine. He's the winner of two Press Club awards.