Getting freeway ready for winter

Published: Monday, 12/8/2014 - Updated: 6 seconds ago GETTING FREEWAY READY FOR WINTER

BY DAVID PATCH BLADE STAFF WRITER

When a state contractor made one of the last concrete pours needed to finish a new retaining wall on I-75 near Detroit and Delaware avenues last week, it marked the move toward completion of the last task essential to keeping the freeways reconstruction through downtown Toledo on schedule through the winter.

The projects first phase, which includes rebuilding the two left lanes in each direction, the median wall, and associated drainage, was just 30 percent complete as of Thursday. But the retaining wall on the curve between Detroit and Delaware was the only critical path item remaining on this months schedule, said Theresa Pollick, an Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman in Bowling Green. It is expected that all of the concrete pours will be done by the end of the month.

Its moving along real well, said Mike Gramza, ODOTs district planning and engineering administrator. Shortly into the spring, we will switch [traffic] over to the inside lanes.

Rebuilding I-75 between Dorr Street and I-475 is among several ODOT projects set to continue in the winter.

Along with the Anthony Wayne Bridge rehabilitation, its among the more disruptive to traffic. Reducing I-75 to two lanes each way through has caused chronic backups since work began in July.

So far we are pleased with the work progress on this and all of the projects on the Interstate system, said Todd Audet, ODOTs district deputy director in Bowling Green. We hope the traveling public will remain vigilant and patient traversing the area as some of the project will continue through the winter.

Work planned for the winter includes demolishing the Oakwood Avenue overpass, which will be replaced; pouring concrete footers for overhead signs; hand pours for median-wall concrete at catch basins, and back-fill for the retaining wall. Ms. Pollick said the latter item could be finished yet this week, but most of the work schedule is weather-dependent.

Completing the downtown I-75 projects current phase on time in the spring, Ms. Pollick said, is vital because it affects the traffic pattern for ODOTs next I-75 project: freeway reconstruction and widening between I-475 and I-280.

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Getting freeway ready for winter