Work to change lanes on I-80 span

AUSTINTOWN — The eastbound span of the Interstate 80 bridge over Meander Reservoir project is done, and traffic will be directed in the coming weeks to allow construction of the new westbound portion.

“On Saturday morning, we started moving traffic onto the new bridge,” said Justin Chesnic, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Transportation District 4.

The next step is to set up barriers on the eastbound bridge to separate eastbound and westbound traffic and direct all of the traffic onto the new eastbound piece. Getting traffic off of the old westbound bridge will allow demolition and construction of a new span.

The $100 million-plus project started in April 2006 and is expected to be finished in fall 2009. It’s one of the largest ODOT projects in the state.

“It’s on schedule,” the ODOT spokesman said.

Crews are widening and reconstructing I-80 to six lanes from the Ohio Turnpike to the I-80/state Route 11 interchange. The project includes replacement of the twin bridges over Meander and the bridges at North Turner, Ohltown and North Lipkey roads.

For more, see Tuesday’s Vindicator and Vindy.com