The Blade's Road Warrior
10/14/2005The Blade s Road Warrior advises readers where the biggest driving headaches will be throughout the construction season. He ll tell you locations to avoid and detours to take.
I-280 will close at 7 a.m. Tuesday between Greenbelt Parkway and Summit Street for overhead construction of the Veterans Glass City Skyway in Toledo s north end, ODOT announced yesterday.
As was the case with recent East Toledo closings, the Ohio Department of Transportation will detour through-traffic via I-75 and State Rt. 795. Local traffic will be allowed to use I-280 north of the Greenbelt and south of Summit as long as no problems develop with through-traffic trying to cut through downtown Toledo.
On the plus side, for as long as I-280 is closed north of Summit, the Summit entrance to the southbound Craig Memorial Bridge which has been closed for safety reasons since the mid 1990s will be reopened. This should provide substantial relief to the rush-hour backups on the eastbound side of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge.
Exactly how long I-280 will stay closed depends on the severity of winter weather. ODOT s advisory says the overhead work will require seven months, but they don t know if that will be in one stretch or two.
1. I-280: All lanes will be open through the Veterans Glass City Skyway construction zone until Oct. 18. Before then, motorists should prepare for delays of up to 15 minutes between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Front Street is restricted to one lane each way at I-280, and left turns are prohibited between Dearborn Avenue and Esther Street, including I-280 ramps.
The ramp from southbound I-280 to eastbound Front Street is closed until Oct. 24, while the Front Street entrance to northbound I-280 is closed until mid November. Also closed are the northbound exit and southbound entrance at Greenbelt Parkway. Ash and Huron streets are closed at I-280.
2. U.S. 20/23, State Rt. 420: Interchange construction closes one lane each way on Route 420 south of Truman Road. Pemberville Road is closed at U.S. 20/23 for overpass construction. Use Bradner or Lemoyne roads instead.
3. U.S. 24: Resurfacing requires flag zones between Luna Pier and Dunbar roads. Delays are likely. Completion is scheduled for November.
4. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge: Preparatory work associated with draw-span replacement requires varying lane closings. Some are only in effect from 6:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, except on holidays, but others are full time. Expect delays.
5. I-75: Pavement and bridge rehabilitation restricts southbound I-75 to two lanes between LaPlaisance and Erie roads. All northbound lanes and ramps are open, but unannounced additional lane closings in either direction are possible into next month. Bridge work at Ready Road, near South Rockwood, Mich., requires lane closings in both directions.
6. Byrne Road: Bridge reconstruction and pavement work restrict traffic to one lane in each direction between Hill Avenue and Airport Highway, and between Heatherdowns Boulevard and Glendale Avenue. Sewer construction closes through-traffic on Byrne between Detroit and Stengel avenues.
7. State Rt. 246 (Dorr Street): Resurfacing restricts traffic to one lane in each direction between Detroit Avenue and Collingwood Boulevard.
8. Laskey Road: Street reconstruction restricts traffic to westbound only between Secor and Talmadge roads. Eastbound traffic is detoured via Alexis Road.
9. Summit Street: Bridge reconstruction restricts traffic to one lane each way at the Ottawa River.
10. Fulton-Lucas Road: Bridge repairs close the road between Airport Highway and Shaffer Road until Oct. 28. Use Scott Road instead.
11. Monroe Street (State Rt. 51): Widening and repaving require nighttime lane closings between Willis Boulevard and Crary Drive. The work zone includes the Secor Road and Sylvania Avenue intersections. Work hours are 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Oct. 21.
12. Detroit Avenue (U.S. 24): Water-line construction restricts traffic to southbound only between Schneider Road and Sherwood Avenue through next week. Northbound traffic is detoured via the Anthony Wayne Trail.
13. I-280: Bridge painting that restricts I-280 to one lane each way at the Ohio Turnpike is expected to end today.
14. State Rt. 65: Resurfacing requires daily flag zones between East Boundary Street in Perrysburg and the southern limits of Rossford. Use I-75 instead.
15. Douglas Road: Sewer construction closes the street to through-traffic between Laskey Road and Sylvania Avenue until Nov. 1. Detour via Tremainsville Road and Upton and Sylvania avenues. Continue south on Upton to reach eastbound I-475.
16. Downtown Toledo: Resurfacing requires varying lane closings and detours on parts of Washington, 11th, and Summit streets. All traffic exiting I-75 at Washington is forced east on Washington at 11th. Summit is affected between Lafayette and Lagrange streets.
17. Cherry and Summit Street intersection: Brick crosswalk work will create lane restrictions though Oct. 21. Some turns may be restricted too. Expect long delays westbound on the Martin Luther King, Jr., Bridge.
18. Seaman Road: Bridge rehabilitation closes Seaman between Wheeling Street and Berlin Avenue until Oct. 24. Use Starr Avenue instead.
OFF THE MAP
I-75: Median barrier repairs require nighttime lane closings between Hancock County Road 99 and Findlay. Minor delays are possible.
U.S. 6/U.S. 20: Traffic is reduced to one lane each way at the western end of the Fremont Bypass, with temporary traffic signals regulating the merge between U.S. 6 and U.S. 20.
U.S. 6: A culvert replacement will close the route at Wapakoneta Road in Wood County for three weeks, starting Monday. Detour via State Rts. 109, 281, and 25.
State Rt. 2: Rehabilitation of the Edison Bridge over Sandusky Bay restricts traffic to one lane each way. Delays are possible, especially on weekends.
State Rt. 108: Replacement of the Perry Street Bridge in Napoleon requires a six-mile detour, via U.S. 6 and State Rt. 110, until the new bridge opens later this month.
Contact the Road Warrior at: roadwarrior@theblade.com or 419-724-6094.