ODOT launches its construction season

GIRARD

“Safety in Construction Work Zones” was the theme of the annual Ohio Department of Transportation construction kickoff news conference conducted this morning amid a large, long-term interstate highway widening project.

The event occurred at the closed U.S. Route 422 entrance ramp to Interstate 80 westbound, which is expected to remain closed through December 2017.

This and other ramp closures are part of a three-year, $102.2 million project to widen Interstate 80 from four to six lanes between state Route 46 in Austintown and state Route 193 (Belmont Avenue) in Liberty Township.

To accommodate that project, the ramp from Interstate 80 eastbound to U.S. Route 422 is closed through July 2017; and the ramp from state Route 11 southbound to Interstate 80 eastbound will remain closed through December 2017.

All three ramps closed last July.

The project, which began in June 2015 and is scheduled to end in September 2018, includes the widening and replacement of six bridges on Interstate 80.

Work to be performed this year includes completion of the widening of Interstate 80 eastbound and the start of widening of Interstate 80 westbound, including replacement of the westbound bridges just west of U.S. Route 422.

At least two lanes of traffic in each direction will be maintained on this section of the 2,900-mile transcontinental interstate highway during peak travel times, ODOT said.