Ohio Turnpike Announces $233M In Upgrades, Projects

BEREA, OH — The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission announced plans to invest $233 million on projects modernizing toll roads, replacing pavement, resurfacing and more.

Most of the projects should be completed by December 2022, the Commission said. In an attempt to limit traffic congestion and delays, crews will try to maintain two lanes of traffic in all three lane sections of the turnpike during peak travel times. Single-lane zones may be necessary but will mostly occur during off-peak travel times.

A complete list of upcoming construction projects has been shared on the Ohio Turnpike Commission's website.

Watch Your Speed

Construction season on the turnpike lasts approximately nine months. Between 2016 and 2020, there 1,443 car crashes in work zones on the Ohio Turnpike. That's an average of nearly 289 crashes per year, according to the Ohio Department of Public Safety.

“Raising awareness of work zone safety on behalf of our roadway crews, contractors and motorists during the construction season is a top priority,” said Ferzan Ahmed, executive director of the turnpike commission. “When driving through work zones, it’s important for motorists to establish a safe following distance, maintain the work zone speed limit, pay attention to the signs, avoid distractions, and be prepared to slow down or stop.”

“Speeding in work zones is a primary cause of crashes,” Ahmed added. “The Highway Patrol will be conducting speed enforcement, including aerial enforcement, in work zones on the Ohio Turnpike during the construction season.”

Major Modernization Projects

Here are the turnpike's plans for major modernization projects this year:

• Construction of the new mainline Westgate Toll Plaza 4 in Edon, Ohio (Williams County);
• Construction of the new mainline Toll Plaza 211 in Newton Falls, Ohio (Trumbull County);
• Renovation of the mainline Eastgate Toll Plaza 239 in New Springfield, Ohio (Mahoning County);
• Expansion of Toll Plaza 64 (Wood County) and Toll Plaza 152 (Lorain County);
• Infrastructure upgrades to install new tolling equipment at 20 interchanges from Toll Plaza 52 to Toll Plaza 209 (Lucas, Wood, Sandusky, Erie, Lorain, Cuyahoga, Summit, Portage and Trumbull counties);
• Automatic traffic recorders at nine toll plazas (Williams, Fulton, Trumbull and Mahoning counties);
• Weigh-in motion systems at three milepost locations (Ottawa, Lorain and Portage counties); and
• New toll collection hardware/equipment installation at 21 existing toll plazas and three new toll plazas.

“We are about one year away from open road tolling on the Ohio Turnpike, which is scheduled to debut in spring 2023. Once complete, our E-ZPass customers will be able to travel the full length of the 241-mile Ohio Turnpike at highway speeds without stopping,” Ahmed added. “Customers, who save an average of 33-percent on tolls with E-ZPass, will continue to receive discounted toll rates when traveling through gateless E-ZPass entry and exit lanes. Motorists without E-ZPass will still have the option to exit the turnpike and pay their tolls with cash or credit card at gated toll lanes.”

Pavement Replacement Projects

• Pavement replacement, new ramps, and construction of the new Westgate Toll Plaza 4 site (Williams County)
• Pavement replacement, new ramps, and construction of the new Toll Plaza 211 site (Trumbull County)
• Pavement replacement, new ramps, and renovation of the current Toll Plaza 239 site (Mahoning County)

Resurfacing Projects

• All three lanes and all shoulders in both westbound and eastbound directions from milepost 73.95 to 80.5 (Wood, Ottawa and Sandusky counties).
• The right and center lanes and right shoulder from milepost 178.05 to 185.65 (Summit County) and resurfacing the ramps at Exit 187 (Portage County).
• The ramps at Exit 118 (Erie County).
• The car and truck parking areas at the Great Lakes and Towpath service plazas at milepost 170.1 (Cuyahoga County).

Bridge Projects

• Widening and deck replacement of the mainline bridges at milepost 40.3 over State Route 109 and milepost 40.5 over the Indiana and Ohio Railway in Pike Township (Fulton County).
• Removal of the mainline bridge at milepost 98.9 over abandoned railroad and redecking the mainline bridge at milepost 99.1 over State Route 510 in Riley Township (Sandusky County).
• Replacement of the Exit 151 eastbound deceleration ramp bridge at milepost 151.3 and redecking the ramp bridge over Lorain Road at milepost 152.3 in North Ridgeville (Lorain County); and redecking the Jennings Road overhead bridge at milepost 153.9 in Olmsted Township (Cuyahoga County).
• Redecking the East Edgerton Road overhead bridge at milepost 169.6 in Broadview Heights (Cuyahoga County) and replacement of the State Route 21/Brecksville Road bridge at milepost 172.9 in Richfield (Summit County).
• Final paving and the repainting of the mainline bridges at milepost 222.7 over Turner Road and milepost 222.8 over Kirk Road in Austintown Township (Mahoning County).