MARTINS FERRY — A main route to the Martins Ferry City School District campus is closing for an indefinite period of time.

Mayor John Davies and school Superintendent Jim Fogle released a joint statement Friday afternoon notifying the public of the planned closure. Fogle also announced the news on the district’s website, stating that as of Jan. 2, Alumni Road will be closed until further notice. The road is one of the primary access routes to the schools on Ayers Limestone Road.

The joint statement notes there is a major slip on Alumni Road, which leads from the district campus to Ohio 647.

“In the interest of public safety, this road will be closed to all public traffic effective immediately,” they wrote. “Only school buses and emergency vehicles will be allowed on this road until further notice.”

Davies said Friday that the road would be reduced to one lane until the closure takes effect Tuesday.

The city and the school board and administration will continue to work together, monitoring Alumni Road and researching funding for repairs.

Traffic will also be restricted from turning left onto School Road from Ohio 647 during the hours of 6:30-8:30 a.m. and 2-3 p.m.

“We apologize for the inconvenience,” the officials added.

Martins Ferry Councilman Thomas Burns, closing out his term serving on council, said the situation is cause for concern.

“It’s dangerous for school buses, and we were afraid they were going to go over the hillside. It’s starting to erode the actual base on the sides. It’s mushy, and the road is starting to get soft,” Burns said. “We’re leaving it up to the mayor and our service director (Andy Sutak) to deal with it with the school board and then get back to us. It’s just too dangerous.

“If they deem it unsafe to drive on, I agree,” he said. “The base was never put in or strong enough for anything over 10 tons, like a tractor-trailer or something like that,” Burns continued. “We don’t need semis going across that road, and who knows what they’ll do on that road too? They’re too heavy. It’s been a situation that’s been coming for a long time. That’s the big problem with that road. It’s deteriorating and it’s dangerous.”

Burns added that recent icy weather has exacerbated the problem.

Burns said the project likely will be an expensive one if the road must be repaired or replaced. He said there are no costs or potential timetables yet for any work.

“It needs taken care of,” he added. “We have to. We don’t want some children or anyone getting hurt, especially when the weather turns bad.”

Questions about ownership of the roads leading to the schools have been raised but not fully resolved during past council meetings.