Safety and travel info for Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day Weekend was the second-deadliest of all major holidays on Ohio roads between 2010 and 2014. Many of those deaths could have been prevented if drivers and passengers wore seat belts.

”Unfortunately, as a state, we rank high in the number of unbelted traffic deaths,” said ODOT Director Jerry Wray. “Ohio’s seat belt use rate is about 84 percent, lower than surrounding states,” he said.

So far this year, Ohio has recorded 340 traffic deaths, 107 of those involved people not wearing a seatbelt.

May 23-June 6, 2016 is National Seat Belt Enforcement Mobilization and ODOT is reminding drivers and passengers to “Click It or Ticket.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, lap and shoulder belts reduce the risk of fatal injury to front-seat passengers by 45 percent and the risk of moderate to serious injuries by 50 percent.

With more cars on the road during Memorial Day Weekend, motorists can ease frustration by planning ahead, especially when driving through construction zones.

The Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT’s) real-time traffic portal – OHGO.com – helps you avoid traffic tie-ups by posting current highway traffic speeds, traffic accidents, slowdowns and tie-ups, travel times, road construction, traffic cameras images and more!

Below are some of the state’s highway projects that could impact your travel:

Winchester Pike will be reduced to one lane of two-way traffic between Bixby Rd. and Brice Rd. from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for intersection realignment work.  Traffic will be maintain with flaggers.

Short St. will close between Liberty St. and W. Fulton St. for storm sewer installation. The detour from south of the closure is Short St. to Liberty St. to Front St. to W. Mound St. to Short St. The detour from north of the closure is Short St. to W. Fulton St. to Front St. to Liberty St. to Short St.

Hamilton Rd. will be reduced to one lane of two way traffic between U.S. 62 and Clark State Rd. from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for construction.

I-70 twin bridge replacements on Lady Bend Hill near U.S. 40 (Exit 204) between Morristown and Barnesville. Two lanes of traffic is maintained in each direction.

I-70 upgrade (4.5 miles) from almost a mile west of Mall Rd. to nearly four miles east of Mall Rd. To minimize congestion caused by this construction, most lane restrictions will occur at night. Two lanes are maintained in each direction during daytime hours, but between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m., Sunday through Thursday, the highway may be reduced to one lane in each direction.

SR 7 is reduced to one lane between Brilliant and Rush Run for landslide repairs.

U.S. 36 is closed at Gnadenhutten for a bridge replacement over the Tuscarawas River just east of SR 416. Traffic is detoured.

I-75 from Third St. to Main St. is under construction due to the modernization of the interstate through the city of Dayton. Two lanes of traffic will remain open to northbound motorists. Three lanes will be open to southbound motorists. Motorists need to stay alert, as traffic patterns are currently not in their traditional places at this location.

I-70 between Airport Access Rd. and SR 48 is under construction. Two lanes of traffic will remain open to motorists in each direction. Motorist should remain alert as there is a lot of work being done in this area.

I-75 near CR 25A in Troy will have 24 hour lane width restrictions. Drivers should stay alert as traffic is not in its traditional pattern in this location. Two lanes will remain open in each direction with one northbound lane shifted to the southbound side, one northbound lane operating on the northbound side and two southbound lanes open on the southbound side.

U.S. Route 42 (Pearl Road), Medina County
US 42 (Pearl Rd.), at its intersection with Fenn Rd., is restricted to narrower lane widths as part of an intersection improvement project. Lane widths are 10 feet on Fenn Rd. and 11 feet on Pearl Rd. Left turn lanes on both Pearl and Fenn Rds. are restricted to 10 feet.

U.S. 250 corridor improvement project, between Bogart Rd. and Sycamore Line Rd., will have no lane closures; however, Bogart Rd. east and Bay Winds Dr. will remain closed.

Traffic on I-90 eastbound between Chapel Rd. and State Rd. is shifted over to the westbound lanes via a crossover condition. Two lanes of traffic are maintained in each direction with all traffic placed on the I-90 westbound lanes.

SR 11 northbound and southbound over I-90 is reduced to one lane of traffic in each direction, with all traffic traveling on the southbound lanes of SR 11.

The following ramp closures are in place :

The SR 11 northbound ramp to I-80 eastbound is closed through mid-June for a bridge replacement and ramp reconstruction. The detour is I-680 southbound to SR 711 northbound.

Two lanes of traffic are maintained on I-80 eastbound between SR 46 and the Trumbull County line utilizing the far left lane and left shoulder. This work is part of a $91.5 million project to widen I-80 between SR 11 and SR 193.

I-271 between SR 8 and the Cuyahoga County line has various lane restrictions for roadway widening. The speed limit in this area is reduced to 50 mph during construction.

Motorists traveling on I-271 northbound from just north of the Medina County line to the Ohio Turnpike should be aware of a bi-directional traffic pattern. Although two lanes of traffic are maintained in each direction on I-271 southbound, traffic is now split, with one lane of southbound traffic crossed over onto I-271 northbound, while the second lane remains on I-271 southbound side. This work is part of a $46.4 million project to reconstruct the pavement along I-271 from Broadview Rd. to the Ohio Turnpike.

All I-90 traffic is now traveling on the first of two, new bridges to replace the 1959 Innerbelt Bridge in downtown Cleveland.  Interstate 90 remains open; however, multiple ramps – including the Ontario St. exit ramp from I-90 east – along the downtown corridor are closed or restricted.  Visit www.Innerbelt.org for more information.

The right lane on the inbound (eastbound) West Shoreway from about Edgewater/West 73rd St. to West 45th St. is closed and the speed limit in both directions is permanently reduced to 35 mph. Visit www.LakefrontWest.transportation.ohio.gov for more information.

U.S. 322 (Mayfield Rd.) is closed between County Line Rd. and Caves Rd. in Chester Township thru late June in order to perform culvert replacement operations. Check out the detours here.

Widen I-75 to three lanes in both directions from Perrysburg to Findlay.  The ramp from northbound I-75 to I-475 and the ramp from I-475 to northbound I-75 are closed through September.  Detours are posted. 11-foot lane width restrictions and reduced speed limits are in place in the work zone.

I-75, from the Anthony Wayne Trail to the I-75/280 interchange in Toledo is reduced to two lanes. Two lanes of northbound I-75 traffic is now rerouted onto southbound I-280 to Central Ave. to northbound I-280.  11-foot lane width restrictions and reduced speed limits are in place in the work zone.  Various exit and entrance ramp closures are in place.  Detours are posted.

Through June 2016, 11-foot lane width restrictions will be in place on I-475 from Airport Highway through the U.S. Route 23 interchange for bridge widening and interchange work.

Traffic on I-75 north and south of the SR 65 interchange area continues to travel in a contraflow pattern where two southbound lanes and one northbound lane of traffic are traveling on the southbound side of the interstate, and one northbound lane is traveling on the northbound side of the interstate. Traffic will remain in this pattern until late summer. All ramps at the Ohio 65 interchange will be open over the holiday.

A rockfall remediation project is under way on U.S. 52, between the Ashland, KY twin bridges to just east of CR 268 (Crabtree Hollow Rd.). Throughout construction, westbound U.S. 52 will be reduced to one, 11-foot lane, while eastbound U.S. 52 will remain open to two lanes of traffic.

SR 104 is closed between SR 552 and TR 420 (Boswell Run Rd.) as part of the Lake White Dam rehabilitation and bridge replacement project. In addition, SR 551 is closed between its junction with SR 104 and CR 93 (Bricker Rd.), near the park office. Both closures will be in effect through early November, and while these routes are closed, through traffic will be detoured by way of U.S. 23 and SR 32. Local traffic to the Lake White region will be detoured via SR 552 and SR 220.  Roadway construction is anticipated to be completed in late fall 2016, and the lake is expected to be restored for the fishing and boating season in 2017.

SR 32 is reduced to one lane in each direction between the Athens and Vinton county lines for minor rehabilitation of Meigs county roadway.

SR 260 southbound is closed between Rd. Fork Rd. and approximately 3 miles north of the junction to

SR 145 due to an emergency slip repair.

I-77 is reduced to one lane in both directions 3.62 miles north of the Washington and Noble county border.

I-77 southbound will be reduced to one lane 1.35 miles north of the Ohio-West Virginia border for a bridge rehabilitation project.

Widening of I-75 between Mitchell Ave. (exit 6) and SR 562 (exit 7). One lane of southbound I-75 traffic is in a contraflow position on the west side of I-75 between SR 562 and the Mitchell Avenue exit. Two lanes of southbound I-75 traffic remain open on the east side of I-75 between SR 562 and the Mitchell Ave. exit. While the permanent work zone restrictions remain in place, work is suspended over the holiday and there will be no additional lane closures.

Bridge replacement on I-71 at Socialville-Fosters Rd. bridge. The shoulders of north and southbound I-71 at the bridge are closed. While the permanent work zone restrictions remain in place, work is suspended over the holiday and there will be no additional lane closures.

Construction on the U.S. 35 bridge over Glady Run. Lane closures are in place, using concrete barrier walls, just before and after this bridge. While the permanent work zone restrictions remain in place, work is suspended over the holiday and there will be no additional lane closures.