FINDLAY, Ohio — With warmer weather comes a familiar sight: orange barrels on major roads.
The Ohio Department of Transportation kicked off its 2024 construction season Tuesday in Hancock County.
Across Ohio, 950 road and bridge projects will see $2.8 billion in improvements this construction season.
ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks says 39 of those projects in Ohio are classified as "major projects." costing more than $10 million each.
"We have been very fortunate to have the resources to get ahead of the problem," he said. "We think this will continue to benefit the citizens of northwest Ohio for decades to come."
The beginning of construction season also means it's even more important for drivers to pay attention to crews on the road.
"Every project that we do will improve the safety of the citizens who traverse the roads after it's done," Marchbanks said. "But, while that project is underway, we are encouraging people to slow down and move over. Work zone safety awareness is paramount to us."
The largest construction project in northwest Ohio this year will be in Hancock County where the County Road 99/I-75 overpass on the north end of Findlay will become a diverging diamond.
According to ODOT, this interchange sees 56% more traffic than it was initially designed for.
The $30.8 million project will also expand County Road 99 for nearly a mile from Technology Drive to Main Street.
Chris Hughes, ODOT District 1 deputy director, says the existing overpass bridge is new enough that only one additional crossing will need to be built.
"So we will be building a second bridge just to the south, and while we build that bridge we'll use the old bridge to maintain traffic," Hughes said.
The County Road 99 project can be considered the last project of the I-75 widening that has been in the works for more than a decade, according to ODOT.
Tim Mayle, executive director of Bowling Green State University's Center to Advance Manufacturing and a member of ODOT's Transportation Review Advisory Council, said the return on investment is already underway as more and more development projects for this area of Hancock County are announced.
"That investment, widening this access, it broadens the markets that they can serve and it reduces any risk because they know that their trucks can get to and from the plant," he said.
Construction on the County Road 99 project is expected to begin sometime in May and be completed in early 2026.