COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) has officially kicked off its 2022 construction season with the announcement of its project plans for this year.
According to a release, Ohio will be investing nearly $2 billion on 829 projects across the state. 222 projects will be aimed directly at improving safety on Ohio roads. ODOT says crews will improve 661 bridges and 7,626 miles of pavement, enough to cover the distance from Columbus to London, England and back.
Many of those projects will be centered in Northeast Ohio.
ODOT District 12
68 projects are slated to take place in ODOT's District 12, which covers Cuyahoga, Lake, and Geauga counties. Here are a few of the notable projects:
I-71 CONCRETE MEDIAN REPLACEMENT: Replace the concrete median on I-71 between U.S. 42 (Pearl Rd.) and I-480. The project also includes various overhead lighting replacements and drainage repairs in the cities of Middleburg Heights and Brook Park.
- Estimated Begin: April 2022
- Estimated End: October 2022
- Bid Amount: $8.5 million
- Traffic Impacts: Traffic will be maintained with a traffic pattern shift.
I-271 EXPRESS LANES RESURFACING: Resurface the I-271 express lanes between I-480 and U.S. 322 (Mayfield Rd.) in the cities of Beachwood, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Pepper Pike, and Warrensville Heights and Village of Orange.
- Estimated Begin: May 2022
- Estimated End: October 2022
- Bid Amount: $5.7 million
- Traffic Impacts: Various nightly lane restrictions and closures.
I-480 INTERCHANGE IMPROVEMENTS and RESURFACING: Interchange improvements to the I-480 westbound and I-71/SR 237/Grayton Rd. interchange by adding a third lane. The project also includes resurfacing I-480 between the Rocky River bridge and W. 139th St. in the city of Cleveland.
- Estimated Begin: Spring 2022
- Estimated End: June 2023
- Bid Amount: $14 million
- Traffic Impacts: Various lane shifts and off peak lane closures.
I-480 BRIDGE DECK REPLACEMENT: Bridge deck replacement on I-480 over Lee Rd. in the city of Cleveland.
- Begin: July 2022
- Estimated End: October 2024
- Bid Amount: $8.5 million
- Traffic Impacts: Various off peak lane restrictions and closures.
E. 75TH ST. BRIDGE REPLACEMENT: Replace the E. 75th St. bridge over the Norfolk Southern and Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA) Rapid Transit railroads in the city of Cleveland.
- Begin: January 2022
- Estimated End: October 2022
- Bid Amount: $17.3 million
- Traffic Impacts: The E. 75th St. bridge over the Norfolk Southern and GCRTA Rapid Transit railroads will be closed through January 2022. The detour will be Woodland Ave. to E. 79th St. to Opportunity Corridor Blvd.
E. 185TH ST. STREETSCAPE: Rehabilitate and streetscape improvements on E. 185th St. between Nottingham Rd. and Lake Erie and between Nottingham Rd. and Pawnee Ave. in the cities of Cleveland and Euclid. Improvements include pedestrian, public transit, and bicycle.
- Estimated Begin: May 2022
- Estimated End: October 2022
- Bid Amount: $12 million
- Traffic Impacts: Two way traffic will be maintained south of Villaview Rd. One lane northbound between Villaview Rd. and Lake Erie. Southbound traffic will be detoured E. 200th St.
You can read the complete ODOT District 12 construction program here.
ODOT District 3
Here are some of the notable projects in ODOT District 3, which includes Lorain and Medina counties:
REHABILITATION OF SR 10: From US 20 to I-480/I-80 interchange; US 20, from SR 10 to Chestnut Ridge Rd. (Lorain)
- Estimated Begin: April 2022
- Estimated End: October 2022
- Bid Amount: $8.86 million
- Traffic Impacts: Traffic maintained at all times
REHABILITATION OF US 42: From south of Congress Rd., to US 421; MED US 224 ramp to beginning of US 42 overlap; US 224, from US 42 to IR 76 for various bridge work. (Medina)
- Estimated Begin: January 2022
- Estimated End: December 2022
- Bid Amount: $16.9 million
- Traffic Impacts: Traffic maintained at all times
Read the complete ODOT District 3 construction program here.
ODOT District 4
Here are some of the notable projects in ODOT District 4, which includes Summit, Portage and Stark counties:
INTERSTATE 77 RESURFACING: Resurfacing of I-77 from V. Odom Blvd. to just south of Ridgewood Rd. in the City of Akron. Project includes minor bridge repairs. (Summit)
- Estimated Begin: May 2022
- Estimated End: September 2022
- Project Cost: $5.1 million
- Traffic Impacts: A minimum of two lanes of traffic will be maintained on I-77.
INTERSTATE 77 BRIDGE REPLACEMENTS: Replace both bridges on I-77 over State Route 21 in Copley Township. (Summit)
- Estimated Award: October 2022
- Estimated End: August 2024
- Project Cost: $10.4 million
- Traffic Impacts: Two lanes of traffic will be maintained in each direction on I-77 via crossovers. The ramp from I-77 north to SR 21 south will be closed during the 2023 construction season. A detour will be posted.
INTERSTATE 480 & STATE ROUTE 91 RESURFACING: Resurfacing of I-480 from the Portage County line to the Cuyahoga County line and on SR 91 at I-480 in the Cities of Macedonia, Twinsburg and Hudson. Project also includes minor bridge repairs. (Summit)
- Estimated Begin: April 2022
- Estimated End: November 2022
- Project Cost: $8 million
- Traffic Impacts: A minimum of one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction on I-480 during non-peak travel times.
INTERSTATE 76 RESURFACING: Resurfacing of I-76 from just east of Tallmadge Rd. to east of SR 44 in Brimfield and Rootstown Townships. Project also includes minor bridge repairs and construction of a turnaround for emergency/ road maintenance vehicles just west of S. Munroe Rd in Summit County. (Portage)
- Estimated Award: September 2022
- Estimated End: October 2023
- Project Cost: $7.1 million
- Traffic Impacts: A minimum of one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction on I-76 during non-peak travel times. Various weekend ramp closures. All detours will be posted.
U.S. 62 RELOCATION: Access management improvements including the relocation of U.S. 62 to the north between State Route 43 and Nimishillen Creek. Project includes reduction of movements to three U.S. 62 intersections, and the signalization of U.S. 62 an St. Elmo Ave. Most driveways along U.S. 62 will be removed and a new frontage road will be constructed. Work will occur in the City of Canton and Plain Township. (Stark)
- Estimated Start: April 2022
- Estimated End: October 2024
- Project Cost: $13.7 million
- Traffic Impacts: A minimum of one lane of traffic will be maintained in each direction on U.S. 62.
Read the complete ODOT District 4 construction program here.
ODOT will hold a Northeast Ohio construction kick-off event on Tuesday morning at the LaFollette Street Bridge over I-77 in Akron. ODOT District 4 Deputy Director Gery Noirot will be among those on hand.
While ODOT is looking ahead to a big summer of projects, they are also emphasizing safety on the roadways this year.
“Safety has been the top priority since the first day of the DeWine Administration. We’re constantly looking for ways to better engineer our roads to ensure they’re as safe as possible for those who use them each day,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks in a statement. “However, drivers have an important role to play too. We need every motorist to buckle up, obey the speed limit, drive sober, and drop the distractions.”
ODOT adds that work zone safety will be another major focus this year. Last year, there were 4,796 crashes in Ohio work zones, 35% of them occurred with workers present. 30 people were killed in 26 of those crashes. ODOT workers, vehicles, and equipment were hit 154 times last year.
“The men and women working on these construction projects are doing dangerous work. Motorists can make it less dangerous by paying extra attention, moving over, and slowing down when they see our crews,” Marchbanks added.
Speed is one of the biggest issues in work zones. In 2021, the Ohio State Highway Patrol issued 6,015 citations in work zones with 41% being more than 20 mph over the posted speed limit.
Related Stories:
- Ohio Turnpike announces $233 million budget to be spent on 2022 improvement projects
- 'This is all preventable': 81,000 bags of trash collected by ODOT so far this year
- ODOT to install wrong-way detection system on I-71, I-90 in Cuyahoga County
- Ribbon cutting takes place for Opportunity Corridor, linking I-490 to University Circle in Cleveland