Wayne Allen | Community Common

Part of ODOT’s $12 million dollar resurfacing and rehabilitation on US 52 in Scioto County.

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Wayne Allen

Common Staff Writer

This week is Work Zone Safety Week and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) used this opportunity to remind area motorists to remain safe and announced upcoming projects.

ODOT District 9 held an event with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet last week to promote work zone safety week and to announce upcoming projects.

“The national work zone safety week message is, we’re all in this together. Ohio and Kentucky are in this together to. We want people to recognize that we’re out there trying to improve, preserve and maintain the transportation system. We’re working together to do this but at the same time we need our motorists and crews to be safe,” said Kathleen Fuller, ODOT District 9 spokeswoman.

Fuller said, throughout district 9 they are planning for 65 projects at a total cost of about $64 million.

According to ODOT, Scioto County will be have nearly $20 million in projects done to area roadways this construction season.

“Our biggest project in the district this year is the $12 million dollar resurfacing and rehabilitation on US 52 in Scioto County,” Fuller said.

She said, this a two-year project and in both years it will be phased out. The first phase of year one will involve bridge work. There are eight bridges, between State Route 239 and U.S. 52 and they are going to do all of the bridge rehabilitation and ramp bridge rehabilitation’s this year. Next year will be the paving operations. Through the construction zone a 45-mile per hour speed limit will be enacted.

She said crews are anticipated to be finished with the bridge rehabilitation’s by mid-summer. Once finished, they will start rehabilitation work on three bridges with ramps.

“Once they are finished with the bridges, then crews will begin work on three ramp bridges within the project area. Two of the bridges with ramps are near State Route 73 interchange area and the third in close to the 239 interchange,” Fuller said. “When the bridge is being done, the main line traffic will be restricted to one lane. When they go to the ramps, two of the three ramps will have total closures but they will not be at the same time.”

She said the bridges with ramps will be sequenced in their closures. Once closed they will remain closed for 60 days.

Fuller said some of the others projects scheduled for this construction season include a $3.2 million project that will resurface State Route 140 in Scioto County and in part of Lawrence County.

“The entire section of 140 in Scioto County will be resurfaced as apart of this project and a small section in Lawrence County. This represents roughly 17 miles of roadway,” Fuller said.

She said the project is expected to get started just before summer.

Other projects include, a resurfacing of State Route 522, this project is estimated to cost $1.5 million.

“This project is the entire length of the route and goes from 52 to the Lawrence County line. This project also includes some bridge rehabilitation along the route. This project is about 8.3 miles of roadway that will be resurfaced,” Fuller said. The project is expected to get started soon.

The slip repair project continues on S.R. 139 in Portsmouth.

Fuller said, crews are repairing a slip at the 1.20-mile marker, between Munn Street and T.R. 165 (Hinkley Hollow Road), just south of the corporation limit.

Traffic will be maintained in one, 9-foot lane with temporary traffic signals with the project is anticipated to be completed in early summer.

“All that has to be done on this is paving and we are waiting for the asphalt company to open, so that can be done, they could open up anytime now,” Fuller said. “That should be done by the end of this month first part of May.”

She said there is also a slide repair project being planed for State Route 73.

This project is estimated to cost $551,193.

“Those are some of our bigger projects this year. Other projects include some culvert construct in Shawnee Forest as a part of an ODNR (Ohio Department of Natural Resources) job,” Fuller said.

She said a crew from Civil Construction, Inc, recently finished work on a bridge in Franklin Furnace that was damaged last year.

In December the ODOT reported an oversized vehicle had struck an overpass on County Road (C.R.) 7 (Junior Furnace-Powellsville Road) at U.S. Route 52 in Scioto County causing structural damage.

ODOT awarded a contract to Civil Construction, Inc, for $159,731.22 to fix the damaged bridge.

Fuller said the crew has finished the job and the bridge has been reopened to two lanes.

Other projects in surrounding counties include in Pike County resurfacing of a portion of U.S. Route 23.

“The total job is roughly 20 lanes miles going into Ross County. There will be lane restrictions on 23 in that area when the project gets started,” Fuller said.

She said there are a number of other projects scheduled to take place in Pike and other ODOT District 9 counties.

For more information about ODOT District 9 and upcoming projects visit, www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/d09/Pages/default.aspx.

Wayne Allen may be reached at 740-353-1151, or tallen@civitasmedia.com. For breaking news, follow Wayne on Twitter @WayneallenPDT.