LIMA – Your tax dollars will be hard at work as the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) launches one of the largest, most aggressive construction seasons to date with projects totaling approximately $2.3 billion. ODOT will begin or continue construction of nearly 1,000 projects statewide including the reconstruction of Interstate 75 in Allen County.
In Paulding County, ODOT is planning two projects at an estimated cost of $2,268,426. One is grinding and resurfacing US 127 from US 224 in Van Wert County to the south corporation limit of Paulding. The second is grinding/resurfacing and microsurfacing Ohio 111 from Ohio 637 to the Defiance County Line.
Three local government projects are planned, including:
• Antwerp Village, sidewalks, $58,433
• County engineer, bridge replacement, CR 79 over Blue Creek, $368,708
• County engineer, bridge replacement, CR 87 over Flat Rock Creek, $691,422.
The total of the five county projects is $3,386,989.
“Investing in our state’s transportation system is vital to our economy and to job creation,” said ODOT director Jerry Wray. “We work hard to establish and maintain an efficient, effective transportation system that gets people and goods where they want to go in a timely and safe manner.”
ODOT’s robust construction schedule consists of an impressive 996 projects, which could total as much as $2.3 billion. ODOT will begin or continue work on 10 mega projects, each totaling more than $50 million.
New work will begin late this year on the eastbound Innerbelt Bridge in Cleveland, which is the largest, most expensive mega project in Ohio totaling approximately $330 million. That amount also includes the demolition of the current, aging Innerbelt Bridge in downtown Cleveland.
Motorists should use caution throughout construction work zones this year. The top three causes of work zone crashes are: following too closely, failure to control, and improper lane change, all of which can be prevented by safe driving. For up-to-the-minute road conditions and details on highway construction projects in every area of the state, visit ODOT’s premier website: www.ohgo.com.
For a complete listing of projects taking place locally within the eight-county region of ODOT District 1 which includes the counties of Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Paulding, Putnam, Van Wert and Wyandot, click here.
