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Lakeside/Marblehead exit closed on Ohio 2 after road collapse

Exit 125 along Ohio 2 heading west toward Ohio 269 (Lakeside/Marblehead exit) could be closed for months after a portion of the road collapsed this week.
The westbound Exit 125 along Ohio 2 toward Ohio 269 in Ottawa County has been closed after a portion of the road collapsed this week.  

DANBURY TOWNSHIP - Exit 125 along Ohio 2 heading west toward Ohio 269 in Danbury Township could be closed for months after a portion of the road collapsed this week.

The Ohio Department of Transportation first discovered issues with the exit ramp a few weeks ago, according to ODOT District 2 spokesperson Rebecca Dangelo.

“At that time, it was just a crack in the pavement,” she said. “We started watching it and noticed that it was slowly growing.”

ODOT then decided to cone-off the area affected to ensure motorists were not driving on the crack, but continued to monitor the situation.

When the crack kept growing, ODOT placed a barrier wall around the area, but originally intended to keep the ramp open.

Then on Tuesday, Nov. 28, the significant slide occurred on the right end of the road.

“It just completely dropped,” Dangelo said. “We have not seen a slide of that magnitude in this area in at least a long time.”

With the area already cordoned off to drivers prior to the incident, no one was as a result of the slide on Tuesday.

“The good thing is, (ODOT) caught it early enough so that people were not driving on it and no one was injured,” she said. “The bad news is, we realized at that time there is not enough space for people to pull off onto that ramp.”

ODOT has not yet determined the cause of the slide, however, they are conducting geological surveying and testing to find out prior to any major repairs, Dangelo said.

“Before we try to fix anything, we want to make sure we know where and why it failed,” she said. “We don’t want to do a quick patch and have it happen again in a couple years.”

The planning department at ODOT anticipates testing results should be concluded in about four to six weeks. Repairs will then be planned and implemented based on those results.

While the first estimated length of the closure is 275 days, which would be through August 2018, Dangelo said ODOT understands the potential impact on tourism.

“We are trying as hard as we can to get that moving a lot quicker,” she said.

jstinchcom@gannett.com

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