NAPOLEON, Ohio — A busy interchange at U.S. 24 near Napoleon will be shut down for the immediate future.
About a year ago, the Ohio Department of Transportation found some minor damage to a support beam of the U.S. 24 overpass over State Route 108 in Napoleon.
Though not impacting the structural integrity of the bridge, ODOT staff knew they had to eventually fix the damage.
This is why starting Monday, the underpass is completely shut down as crews use heat straightening on the beams, and repair the cross supports between the beams.
ODOT says they don't know when the bridge was struck as the incident was never reported to the police.
Detours for 108 through traffic are to loop around on 24 to either Industrial Drive or to the Route 6 interchange.
Though this is not a common problem for ODOT to take care of, it is something that needs to be done to make sure these overpass bridges last.
"It happens, it doesn't happen a lot. But we do deal with bridge strikes, especially on the interstate. It seems to happen more there or on the priority 4 lane routes. But, it not uncommon, but also not a regular happening," ODOT spokesperson Rhonda Pees said.
Now, the hope is this construction could be wrapped up in a few days, the closure of 108 could last as long as two weeks.
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