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 no major projects in Wood County.
The major roadway construction projects on the Ohio Turnpike 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 State Highway Patrol. The OSHP 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.”
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 from west to east:
Williams County
Beaver Excavating (Canton) will continue its work on the Ohio Turnpike’s base pavement replacement project, which stretches from the Indiana/Ohio border to the existing Westgate Toll Plaza at milepost 2.7 in Williams County.
First, the pavement will be replaced on the westbound side and then the project will transition to complete the eastbound side. During the westbound replacement, the eastbound traffic will be reduced to one lane coming into Ohio and westbound traffic will be reduced to one lane leaving Ohio. During the eastbound replacement, eastbound traffic will again be reduced to one lane and westbound traffic will also be reduced to one lane. The work will begin this spring and end in November.
Action Contractors (Bedford) is expected to complete the new mainline Westgate Toll Plaza at milepost 4 in May. Traffic interruptions are not expected.
A two-year resurfacing project will begin in May to improve the pavement conditions from milepost 14.8 to milepost 27.5. The contractor, yet to be selected, will perform full depth pavement repairs on both sides of the Ohio Turnpike. Traffic will be reduced to one lane in each direction during the nighttime hours.
In 2024, the contractor will perform full resurfacing, which will again reduce traffic to one lane in each direction during the nighttime hours. Two lanes of traffic will be open in each direction during times of heavier travel (daytime hours), and no more than four miles of roadway will be under construction at a time during the two-year period. The work will take place from May through November for both the 2023 and 2024 construction seasons.
Fulton County
In 2023, Kokosing Construction Company (Westerville) will complete work on two bridges, which include the mainline bridges over State Route 109 and over the DT & I Railroad in Fulton County.
Two lanes of traffic will be maintained during most of the construction season on the Ohio Turnpike mainline and a temporary traffic signal on S.R. 109 will maintain both northbound and southbound traffic. Traffic is expected to return to normal in November 2023 when the work is completed.
Ottawa County
Repairs are necessary to repair a portion of the slope located 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.
Sandusky County
Kokosing is also continuing work on two bridges in 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 S.R. 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.
A project that will remove the wastewater treatment plant that serves Erie Island 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.
Erie County
Gerken Paving (Napoleon) will begin work in April 2023 to resurface the ramps at Toll Plaza 118 (Ohio 250) in Erie County.
All ramps will remain open during the project and temporary traffic signals will be used to control traffic. The work is expected to be completed by the end of July.
Lorain and Cuyahoga counties
Great Lakes Construction (Hinckley) will perform work on three overhead bridges, which include the Ohio Turnpike’s ramp bridge over Ohio 57, Race Road bridge at milepost 149.2, and Stearns Road bridge at milepost 154.6.
Access to Route 57 southbound from the turnpike will be detoured during the work on the ramp bridge. All other ramp traffic to and from the turnpike will be maintained during the project with temporary lane closures.
The overhead bridges on Race and Stearns roads will be closed and detour routes with signage will be used during the work.
Although the work on all three bridges is expected to be completed in fall, additional work to the road, sewer and water lines along Stearns Road will continue into late 2024.
Summit County
Great Lakes Construction is also continuing work on the replacement of the S.R. 21 bridge over the Ohio Turnpike at milepost 172.9. This year, the western (southbound Ohio 21) side of the bridge will be removed and replaced.
Traffic will be maintained in both directions on Route 21 while the work progresses. Traffic on the turnpike will be reduced to two lanes both eastbound and westbound. The work is expected to be completed in October 2023.
Beginning in April, the Ruhlin Company (Sharon Center) will perform bridge repair and rehabilitation to the mainline bridge over the Cuyahoga River/Valley at milepost 176.9.
The work will reduce turnpike traffic to two lanes in each direction into fall. The project is expected to be completed by year end.
Summit and Portage counties
The replacement of the mainline bridges over Tinkers Creek at milepost 185.6 in Summit and Portage counties will begin in summer. It is the Ohio Turnpike’s largest bridge project in the past 20 years.
Because of the amount of work involved with the project and the requirement to maintain two lanes of traffic through the duration of the project, the work is expected to be completed in late 2025.
Trumbull and Mahoning counties
Modernization of the toll collection system will continue.
The first project includes the installation of weigh-in motion (WIM) systems at milepost 209 in Trumbull County and the other at milepost 236.5 in Mahoning County.
The WIM system includes the installation of pavement sensors to weigh trucks as they are driving at highway speeds and to detect and enforce overweight vehicles traveling on the turnpike.
The WIM projects will start in June and will be completed in November. Two lanes of mainline turnpike traffic will be maintained in both directions during the project.
The second project includes the renovation of the existing Eastgate Toll Plaza at milepost 239 in Mahoning County. A.P. O’Horo Company (Youngstown) will perform the work on the existing building and toll plaza booth and lanes beginning in May with completion expected in May 2024. Interruptions to turnpike traffic are not expected during the work on this project.
Shelly and Sands (North Jackson) will continue work on the base pavement replacement project in 2023. The pavement replacement work includes the sections leading in and out of Eastgate Toll Plaza at milepost 239. Traffic will be maintained during the work, which will begin in spring and end in November.
Other counties
Various projects to modernize the toll collection system at toll plaza interchanges in numerous counties will continue in 2023.
Regent Electric (Toledo) 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).
Yates Electric (Aliquippa, Pennsylvania) is performing similar work at toll plaza interchanges 145, 151 and 152 (Lorain County), 161 (Cuyahoga County), 173 and 180 (Summit County), 187 and 193 (Portage County), and 209 (Trumbull County).
Conduent (New York) is performing the new hardware and software installations at the toll plazas required to collect vehicle information for tolling.
Impact on traffic is expected to be minimal as the work continues.
To limit delays for travelers on the turnpike, the commission strives to maintain two lanes of traffic in all three lane sections of the turnpike during peak travel times. Some single lane zones will be necessary but will occur mostly during off-peak travel times or at night.
