Ohio DOT to Tackle $2.1 Billion Worth of Highway and Bridge Projects This Year
Ohio will work on nearly $2.1 billion worth of new and ongoing road and bridge projects this year.
State leaders announced March 29 that the Ohio Department of Transportation will tackle more than 1,100 projects across the state.
“We apologize for the noise, the dust, the inconvenience, the detours,” ODOT Director Jerry Wray said at a construction kick-off event with a busy Interstate 271 serving as a backdrop. “Know that it’s making Ohio a better place and you’ll be very happy when it’s done and it’ll be worth it.”
The state had $2.4 billion worth of projects last year.
The most expensive project in the Akron area is the reconstruction of the interchange at interstates 76/77 and South Main Street/South Broadway in Akron. That total work has been estimated at $149 million.
Contractors have been busy tearing down buildings to make way for the new interchange, which has been talked about for years.
The much-anticipated road work will begin this summer.
The project includes eliminating Wolf Ledges Parkway and Grant Street interchange, and turning South Main — now a one-way street — into a two-way road.
That portion of highway has been rated as one of the five most dangerous freeway stretches in Ohio.
ODOT Deputy Director Allen Biehl, who oversees the Akron regional office, said that there is an added benefit to the work.
“That project is going to reinvent the gateway into downtown Akron,” he said.
Biehl noted that the state is expected to spend more than $500 million on road and bridge projects in Summit County over the next five years.
In addition to announcing projects, ODOT officials also pleaded with motorists to slow down when they see orange barrels.
Last year, there were more than 6,000 crashes, 1,000 injuries and 30 fatalities in Ohio construction zones.
“That’s the worst year we’ve had in a decade,” Wray said. “People should slow down. They should be more cautious. They should be aware of the construction zone.
“Those folks are out there working, providing an improvement that’s going to make your life better. We certainly want them to go home healthy and happy to their families at the end of the day.”
