TOLEDO, Ohio — Ohio Department of Transportation crews will begin reconfiguring the I-75 interchange with the Anthony Wayne Trail in the downtown Toledo-area, therefore the left-hand merge ramps from the trail to I-75 will be closed for approximately two years.
The ramp closures are part of the mega, $161 million I-75 widening project.
According to ODOT, since the northern I-75 project from South Avenue to Dorr Street began in late 2018, crews have primarily been working on I-75 between South Avenue (Exit 200) and Collingwood Boulevard/Erie Street (Exit 201A).
Now, as crews shift north to work on I-75 between the Anthony Wayne Trail (Exit 201B) and Dorr Street, they'll begin working to reconfigure the I-75 interchange with the Anthony Wayne Trail. To do this, the ramps must be closed for approximately two years.
"By creating more lanes you create more room for traffic and the right-side alignment is something that our traffic engineers say is the way traffic moves better and safer," project engineer with ODOT Kyle Ruedel said.
The following is the current schedule of upcoming ramp changes:
Thursday, July 30:
- During the overnight hours, the ramp from northbound/inbound Anthony Wayne Trail to northbound I-75 will close for approximately two years. Detour: Anthony Wayne Trail to Washington Street to northbound I-75.
Friday, July 31:
- During the overnight hours, the ramp from southbound/outbound Anthony Wayne Trail to southbound I-75 will close for approximately two years. Detour: Washington Street to Dorr Street to Collingwood Boulevard to southbound I-75.
- The ramp from Collingwood Boulevard/Erie Street to southbound I-75 will reopen that night after closing in March 2019.
- During the overnight hours, the ramp from southbound I-75 to South Avenue (Exit 200) will reopen; however, construction will continue on South Avenue near the I-75 ramps, so allow yourself extra time if using South Avenue.
Monday, August 3:
- In the early morning hours, the ramp from southbound I-75 to the southbound/outbound Anthony Wayne Trail will close for 14 days for drainage work. Detour: Downtown/Washington Street (Exit 202A) to Washington Street to southbound/outbound Anthony Wayne Trail.
"The trail is pretty much a necessity for me," said Kevin Glave, owner of Lakeside Electic in Toledo. "Depending on rush-hour traffic, [the closures] could add so much more time to that commute so a lot will have to be adjusted and taken into account as far as scheduling customers."
As for I-75 through the construction zone, two lanes of traffic will remain in each direction, with additional lane restrictions possible overnight.
The mega I-75 project is expected to be completed in Fall 2022.