The current projects include widening the interstate to three lanes, reconstructing eight miles of the highway and refurbishing bridges from Ohio 122 to the Montgomery County line. That work will cost about $110 million.
Another $98 million is being spent on similar work on 11 miles of I-75 from Ohio 122 to Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Butler County. The work is expected to ease daily congestion, which is expected to grow from 95,000 to 137,000 vehicles by 2030. Almost a quarter of that volume is commercial truck traffic.
By next summer, contractors hope to complete $22 million in work on a new interchange, bridge and network of roads along the Warren-Montgomery county line at Austin Boulevard.
By fall 2011, more than $139 million in construction on I-75 in Dayton — begun in November 2007 — is to be finished. Officials say a “pinch point” at the Ohio 4 interchange, better known as “Malfunction Junction,” will be fixed.
The interstate will be widened to three lanes in both directions. Interchanges at Main Street and Stanley Avenue will be improved and all left-hand entrance and exit ramps will be removed as part of the I-75 modernization project.
State transportation officials expect the project to reduce all crashes by 17 percent, those resulting in fatality or injury by 25 percent and rear-end crashes by 41 percent.
The work is expected to ease congestion and help accommodate up to 125,000 trucks and cars a day — more than double the traffic in 1968 — and “eliminate driver confusion from weaving in and out of lanes to maintain driving on I-75,” according to ODOT spokeswoman Denise Heitkamp.
Maintaining continuous lanes of traffic is key to the success of I-75 construction, according to a traffic safety expert at the University of Dayton.
“That’s the big, big safety issue,” said Deogratias Eustace of University of Dayton. “If they don’t try to solve that issue, they’ll be wasting money.”
Eustace also pointed to the importance of eliminating left-hand exits, which require drivers to leave the road from the fast lane. He also supported the softening of the sharp curve at Malfunction Junction.
“That is very bad. It slows down the traffic. It causes chaos,” he said.
As construction has progressed, Tony Spragg has driven new stretches of the interstate, particularly the one between his home in Kettering and office in Mason.
“That is really nice when it opens up,” Spragg said. “It gives you a taste of what we’re going to have in a couple years.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author
