File. A traffic light has been put in place to direct the flow of traffic to one lane on the Lime City Road overpass that covers I-75.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
ROSSFORD — Discussions about possibly raising the Lime City Road overpass on Interstate 75 are in process.
“The city and the township are working with the state to replace the bridge sooner than repairing it and replacing it down the road, because it would save a lot of money and time,” Rossford City Engineer Todd Audet said. “The city is not on the hook for any of this. If we were on the hook for costs, it would be for accelerating it for the purposes of development in the area.”
The subject came up during the Monday city council meeting when Councilman Robert Ruse asked Audet for an update on the Lime City Road bridge project.
Audet has been in discussions with the Ohio Department of Transportation on what could be a much bigger reconstruction project than initially proposed.
The bridge was damaged when a Peterbilt semi-tractor trailer combination, heading northbound on Interstate 75 on Feb. 10 at 1:45 a.m., struck the overpass.
If the bridge were raised, Audet hopes to also widen it and add a pedestrian walkway. There is not currently a sidewalk leading up to that overpass.
“If I put it in the bridge, then we have no reason not to put it on the ground. It’s called creating a problem that’s good to solve,” Audet said. “The city is not on the hook for this, but the city chooses to work with the state to accelerate this, and we are working with the township and the schools, to get all of this in place.”
There has been no commitment of funds by anybody at this point, but we are working together to make it easier for ODOT to replace rather than repair, he said.
Lime City Road is a county road, but I-75 is part of ODOT jurisdiction.
“I was wondering if there was an opportunity to fix the problem once and for all. I met with the governor’s office, talked with ODOT,” Audet said. “We came to an agreement that, and we’re still in the preliminary stages, they’re going to raise and widen the bridge. We’re hoping to do that within the next two years, rather than repair it for $2 million and have it get hit again.”
He hopes to have an official update on the status for the next council meeting.
Perrysburg Township Administrator Jon Eckel confirmed that there will be a meeting Wednesday with the various entities involved.
It was found that the overpass clearance height was lower than other local overpasses, by approximately one foot.
Audet explained the various clearance situations.
“The bridge appears to be narrow, because of being a single lane in each direction. Larger trucks will occasionally smack mirrors, because of the optical illusion. A crosswalk would solve that problem and allow students to cross I-75 for classes,” Audet said in a follow-up interview.
Initial estimates for the bridge reconstruction were $2 million, but raising the height and widening the bridge may cost ODOT as much as $5 million. Audet is also working with the Wood County Port Authority and Perrysburg Township, as aspects of the potential project impact each entity. Penta Career Center is also impacted because of right-of-way requirements.
“Originally they were talking about just doing the one deck and returning the existing bridge,” Eckel said. “You don’t need to be a rocket scientist. If they are now talking $5 million, they’re going to replace the whole thing. I have yet to hear the whole story.
”I guess tomorrow we’re going to have several of the stakeholders there and we’ll see where we’re going with this whole thing,” Eckel said.
Audet estimates 18 months to two years for reconstruction. He said that the bridge bisects the city and having the changes all made at one time would reduce the total impact to traffic.
“If they throw it to a consultant, it could be up to five years,” Audet said. “It’s a real slow process. Right now there is nothing wrong with the structure, once you repair it, other than it’s too low. In other words, there’s life left on it. So there wouldn’t be any rush to do anything, unless it got hit again, which is what we’re trying to avoid.”
According to Audet, prior to the accident the Lime City Road overpass averaged 4,500 vehicles crossing per day. Right now there is only single lane usage, due to the damage.
