Skyway work nears finish for all 6 lanes

All six lanes of the Veterans Glass City Skyway should open within a few days.

Lane closings on the Veterans' Glass City Skyway are about to end, giving motorists the full benefit of the I-280 bridge's six lanes for the first time.

To get there, though - as seems so often the case - motorists will have to deal with more single-lane traffic during the next few days.

After 7 a.m. today, northbound traffic will be reduced to one lane across the Maumee River span while the deck is sealed with resin.

The sealant protects concrete seams where there were construction access holes, bolts, or other deck openings during the $237 million bridge's construction, said Theresa Pollick, an Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman.

A second northbound lane will reopen at nightfall today, but then traffic will be reduced to one lane both ways at 9 a.m. tomorrow while lane stripes are painted in both directions and the resin sealer is applied on the southbound side.

The stripe painting should be finished by sundown tomorrow, at which time all three lanes will open in both directions, Ms. Pollick said.

If the deck sealing isn't also finished tomorrow, she said, another bout of single-lane traffic may be needed Monday on southbound I-280 to finish that work.

But otherwise, remaining work to be done on the bridge should require only scattered lane closings that shouldn't cause major traffic headaches.

Work still to be done includes installing street lights across the main span, installing lights in the median that will shine up onto the bridge's stay cables, and completing the installation of expansion sleeves and vibration dampers on the stay cables' sheathing.

All the lights should be operational by the end of November, Ms. Pollick said.

Having all the lanes open will be the last big milestone in the bridge's construction. It opened to traffic June 24 after daylong dedication ceremonies the day before.

"A lot of credit goes to all the people who've worked so hard over the many years of planning and constructing this project," said Mike Gramza, the ODOT project engineer.

"ODOT is thankful for the efforts of local labor, contractors, designers, the Veterans' Glass City Skyway Task Force, and the general public. The partnership is what made it all possible," he said.

"To see it open, it's a great day for the people of northwest Ohio."