Turnpike plazas will bring between 400 and 450 full- and part-time jobs

Turnpike plazas will bring between 400 and 450 full- and part-time jobs

NEW SPRINGFIELD

The old and new merged Wednesday as the Ohio Turnpike Commission cut the ribbon at its newest service plazas.

The commission christened the new Mahoning Valley and Glacier Hills service plazas, closing a gap of plazas near the Pennsylvania border that was more than 120 miles westbound and 93 miles eastbound.

“The Eastern Gateway to Ohio is back in business,” said commission Executive Director Rick Hodges.

Hodges said the first section of the 60-year-old turnpike was built in Mahoning County, so it was only fitting that the latest service plazas also be there.

The plazas will bring between 400 and 450 full- and part-time jobs to Springfield Township, providing a boost for the local economy, Hodges said.

“I don’t think people realize the impact of these service plazas here,” Hodges said.

The plazas have been closed since January 2011, when plans were announced to renovate them, and they were supposed to be completed last summer. The commission, however, said it terminated the original contract because its terms were not fulfilled.

Estimates from the commission put construction costs at $31 million.

The plazas opened at 12 p.m. Tuesday for a trial run before officially opening at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, turnpike spokeswoman Lauren Hakos said.