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Traffic changes come to I-480 as new Valley View bridge opens

Eastbound traffic has been moved to the new structure.

VALLEY VIEW, Ohio — One of Northeast Ohio’s largest construction projects is moving into the next phase. For you, it means traffic pattern changes on Ohio’s busiest bridges.

Eastbound traffic on the Valley View bridge has been shifted onto a newly built bridge that was erected between the two existing bridges.

“We have shifted all of the 480 Eastbound traffic onto the new bridge. If you’re coming from I-77 North or Southbound to 480 Eastbound, you’re going to notice that both of those ramps merge into one lane," said Amanda McFarland, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation. "They do get their own dedicated lane to enter onto the new bridge, so that will really help with the flow of traffic onto the new bridge.”

ODOT officials say it's the busiest bridge in all of Ohio with more than 180,000 vehicles per day.

The entire project isn’t due to be complete until Summer of 2024 with a total price tag of $227,770,000.

RELATED: I-480 Valley View Bridge progress: Ohio's largest construction project well underway; PHOTOS

That included the cost of the new bridge and the cost of replacing the bridge decks on the two existing roadways.

“They’re over 40 years old,” said McFarland of the old bridges. “And they’ve reached the end of their useful life. So, it’s time for us to replace the decks. And it’s nice the way these bridges were constructed: we don’t have to rebuild each of the bridges from the ground up.”

When the project is done, all three bridges will be utilized with 12 lanes of traffic, six in each direction.

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