Swanton turnpike plazas to close for reconstruction
12/1/2011SWANTON -- Two Ohio Turnpike plazas near Swanton -- known as Fallen Timbers and Oak Openings -- are to close at 2 p.m. Thursday, according to signs at the sites.
Earlier this year, the Ohio Turnpike Commission gave its staff authority to close the plazas, which are the last ones dating back to the turnpike's 1955 opening to remain in use. A resolution that the turnpike commission passed states that it is the commission's "desire … to begin planning for … reconstruction" but it did not set a timetable for building replacements.
Closing the Swanton facilities will create a 56-mile gap between the Williams County plazas and the Blue Heron and Wyandot plazas in Sandusky County, east of the I-280 interchange.