ODOT spokesman Tiffany Oliphant said her agency reached out to Huber Heights officials in April 2020 with a letter letting them know ODOT planned to reroute traffic to Ohio 202, but ODOT did not receive any response from the city.
ODOT can only detour traffic to state, U.S., or interstate routes. Ohio 202 is the closest location.
Oliphant said ODOT first heard of Huber Height Mayor Jeff Gore’s concerns via his Facebook page and a news story. ODOT also received a phone call from an assistant city manager. In response, they chose to change the official signage to Ohio 235.
“This will allow detoured traffic to avoid the closure without having to stop,” Oliphant said. “However, we know that local drivers will likely use a much shorter route to get around the temporary closure.”
The I-70 east ramp to I-75 north will be closed for two months as crews remove and replace an existing wall for safety reasons.
The ramp will be closed from Monday, March 15, through Monday, May 17.
Oliphant said the higher wall design has a portion that sits below the pavement to help keep it stable it it is hit by larger vehicles.
The project also will involve installing arrow signs, also known as chevron signs, to help guide traffic around the I-70 eastbound to I-75 northbound ramp as well as on I-75 northbound to I-70 westbound, I-75 southbound to I-70 eastbound, and I-70 westbound to I-75 southbound.
Chagrin Valley Paving is the contractor for ODOT and the cost is more than $770,800.
The interchange is relatively busy. The I-70/I-75 Interchange sees on average 185,000 vehicles per day for 2019 and 155,000 vehicles per day for 2020, Oliphant said, though the coronavirus pandemic has meant fewer people are driving. Traffic volumes in Ohio were down more than 15% from 2019 to 2020.
Contact Eileen McClory at 937-694-2016 or eileen.mcclory@coxinc.com.
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