Two separate projects to repair unstable hillsides along Route 7 in Jefferson County will cost more than $42 million combined, according to figures Target 9 obtained from the Ohio Department of Transportation.

A landslide near Brilliant and a rockfall near the Jefferson-Columbiana County line closed portions of the four-lane highway in March.  Since then, both areas have experienced lane restrictions because the hillside was deemed too unstable.  Currently, both sites are only open to two lanes of traffic.

Instead of installing a protective barrier or fencing, ODOT is removing a portion of the hillside at both locations – a process that takes more time and money.

"There are really two or three, four, five different ways you can fix this," said ODOT District 11 Deputy Director Lloyd MacAdam of the repairs needed at the Brilliant site. "We're trying to do the most permanent fix that will be the best economically for the state."

The project near Brilliant will take the most time and will be the more costly of the two. ODOT has budgeted $33,385,000 for the project. All four lanes of traffic aren't scheduled to reopen at the site until fall of 2012.

A total of $1 million has already been spent on the project, including:

• $250,000 - installation of a crossover
• 100,000 - drilling
• $175,000 - maintaining traffic
• $25,000 - maintenance work
• $450,000 - plan development

MacAdam said plans for the Brilliant project are still being finalized.

"Those final plans (for the Brilliant project) will be done in February and then we'll sell the construction project," MacAdam said noting that primary work at the site will begin in spring 2012.

Work on the project near the Jefferson-Columbiana County line has already started with a budgeted cost of $9,609,000 and completion expected before Jan. 1, 2012.

Costs for that project include:

• $110,000 - initial cleanup of the site
• $526,000 - clearing trees
• $8,973,000 - laying the slope back

The project is estimated to be 20 percent complete. Workers are at the site all day, six days a week to ensure it is completed by the end of the year, according to MacAdam.

MacAdam said it is important that both projects are completed to maintain the long-term safety of the road, despite what may be a temporary inconvenience.

"We understand what (Route 7) means to the local economy, the commerce – the drivers that drive (the road) every day," he said.