Bridge replacement to close Phillips Ave.

8/10/2004

A bridge replacement project on Phillips Avenue that starts today will complicate getting around in a part of Toledo that already has another bridge under construction.

Beginning at 9 a.m., the Phillips bridge over the Ottawa River will be closed for replacement work that is expected to continue through Nov. 5. The project will sever access between I-75 and Detroit Avenue (U.S. 24) via the Phillips interchange.

Detours will be posted directing traffic from Detroit to I-75 using a variety of alternate routes.

From southbound Detroit, motorists will be directed to use Phillips and Haverhill Drive to reach southbound I-75 at Berdan Avenue and northbound I-75 via Berdan and Jeep Parkway. From northbound Detroit, the detours will use Sylvania and Lagrange to the Stickney-Lagrange interchange.

Motorists who normally exit I-75 at Phillips should plan alternate routes as well, but be aware that Detroit is restricted to one lane each way at its bridge over the Ottawa River, just south of the Detroit-Phillips intersection. The Berdan exit from northbound I-75, and Lagrange from either direction, offer the best prospects, depending on one's destination.

The Detroit bridge over the Ottawa is scheduled for completion in October. It was originally scheduled to be done this month, but has incurred construction delays, and city officials said they could no longer wait to start rebuilding Phillips without the risk of not getting the work done this year.