Ohio Turnpike announces 2023 projects
BEREA – This year, the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission has a budget of about $226 million for capital improvement projects across the 241-mile toll road that traverses through 13 counties in northern Ohio.
There are projects planned in Ottawa and Sandusky counties as well improvements slated for area toll booths and the Sandusky County plazas on CR 260, that serve both sides of the turnpike.
The major roadway construction projects on the Ohio Turnpike in 2023 include pavement replacement and resurfacing, bridge renovations, and modernizing the toll collection system.
“The start of the construction season is an opportunity to remind motorists that everyone plays a role in work zone safety,” said Chris Matta, the commission’s chief engineer. “With reduced lane widths and shifts, and narrow or no shoulders, we are urging motorists to drive safely in and around work zones by maintaining the posted speed limit, establishing a safe following distance, paying attention to the signs, avoiding distractions, and being prepared to slow down or stop.”
Speeding is a primary cause of crashes in work zones, according to the Ohio Highway Patrol. The OHP will be conducting speed enforcement, including aerial enforcement by plane, in work zones across the Ohio Turnpike during the construction season, which typically runs from April to December.
“Dangerous driving behaviors put our maintenance crews and construction workers at severe risk in work zones,” Matta added. “During peak times, up to 1,300 men and women can be working in various locations across the Ohio Turnpike. Together, our number one priority is to get them home safely every day.”
Turnpike warns that work-zone crashes are numerous
In Ohio statewide since 2018, there has been 25,576 work zone-related collisions that resulted in 92 crashes with 101 fatalities, 501 severe injury crashes, 3,042 minor injury crashes, and 19,140 property damage-only crashes, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety. On average from 2018-2022, there’s been 5,044 work zone-related crashes per year on Ohio’s roadways.
Here’s the list of the Ohio Turnpike’s roadway construction projects for 2023 by county:
Ottawa County
Repairs are necessary on a portion of the slope near milepost 63 on the eastbound side of the Ohio Turnpike in Ottawa County.
Traffic will be reduced by one lane to facilitate the work, which will leave two lanes of travel open for eastbound travelers. The work will be performed between June and November 2023.
Sandusky County
Kokosing is continuing work on two bridges in Sandusky County that began in 2022. The work includes the removal of the mainline bridge at milepost 98.9 and the deck replacement of the bridge over Ohio 510.
Two lanes of traffic will be maintained during most of the construction on the mainline. A temporary traffic signal on Ohio 510 will maintain both northbound and southbound traffic. The work is expected to be completed in November 2023.
A project that will remove the wastewater treatment plant that serves the Erie Islands and Commodore Perry service plazas is expected to begin in May. The treatment plant will be replaced by a pump station and sanitary line, and the wastewater treatment will be demolished during the project term from May 2023 to April 2024.
Toll station projects
Various projects to modernize the toll collection system at toll plaza interchanges in numerous counties will continue in 2023.
Regent Electric (Toledo, Ohio) is performing modifications to the existing toll plaza infrastructure by installing new tolling hardware equipment at toll plaza interchanges 52 and 59 (Lucas County), 64 and 71 (Wood County), 81 (Ottawa County), 91 (Sandusky County), 110 and 118 (Erie County), 135, 140 and 142 (Lorain County).
This article originally appeared on Fremont News-Messenger: Turnpike announces 2023 projects for Sandusky and Ottawa counties
