A new structure to replace the Waterville Bridge will be built parallel to the existing bridge, lessening
the impact on drivers crossing the Maumee River.
The Ohio Department of Transportation on Monday selected one of its three alternatives, with the
preferred option involving building a new structure next to the existing bridge, which will minimize
closure of the bridge to an estimated 30 to 45 days when it is built in 2017.
Constructed in 1904 and rehabilitated in 1948, the Waterville Bridge is one of only four truss bridges in
the state and federal highway system in Ohio. It is considered obsolete and fracture critical by ODOT
because of insufficient lane widths, a lack of safety redundancies and other problems.
The $20 million bridge replacement will include a roundabout on the Wood County side of the bridge at the
Ohio 64/65 intersection.
One alternative not selected by ODOT involved tearing town the existing bridge and building a new one in
its place, which would have included a closure of nine months to a year. A third option would have
further minimized the bridge closure to two weeks but required more residential property to construct a
bridge from the same place on the Wood County side running to a location further south on the Waterville
side of the bridge.
ODOT officials said the selection was based upon factors including cost, environmental and historical
impact, public opinion and length of closure.
The next step will be to finalize design plans with construction in 2017, pending available funding.
Information regarding the preferred alternative is available at http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D02/Pages/WatervilleBridgeReplacement.aspx.