Construction to change traffic patterns in Perrysburg

New traffic patterns will be appearing soon on I-75 through the I-475/U.S. 23 interchange in Perrysburg, including split lanes for northbound I-75 motorists and a new lane closing on a major ramp.

Starting May 18, weather permitting, northbound traffic will divide approaching the busy interchange, with the left lane using what is normally the southbound left lane through the area while the right lane uses the normal northbound alignment, Ohio Department of Transportation officials said today.

Only motorists using the right lane will have access to the exit to northbound I-475/U.S. 23. That’s a change from the normal set-up, in which the exit ramp peels from the left lane.

The two-lane ramp from southbound I-475/U.S. 23 to northbound I-75, meanwhile, will be reduced permanently to one lane. That change also is scheduled to take effect May 18.

The two-lane ramp from southbound I-75 to northbound I-475/U.S. 23 already is partially reduced to one lane, and that reduction will be extended.

All of the closings and traffic shifts are required while state contractors continue rebuilding I-75 through the I-475/U.S. 23 interchange as part of a $260 million project to widen I-75 from four lanes to six between Perrysburg and Findlay.

The project also will tie two ramps at the nearby State Rt. 25 interchange on I-475/U.S. 23 directly to I-75, which will eliminate weaving traffic on the short stretch of I-475 between the two interchanges.

ODOT officials also said they plan additional “public education” efforts to encourage compliance with the 60-mph speed limit in the I-75 work zone.

Todd Audet, ODOT’s district deputy director in Bowling Green, said speeding, tailgating, and inattentive driving are believed to be the cause for frequent crashes that, because there are no shoulders and long stretches of barrier wall keeping wayward vehicles from entering work areas, often block the freeway in the work zone.

One such crash Friday, in which a car sideswiped a tractor-trailer, which in turn struck the barrier dividing northbound and southbound traffic and pushed that barrier into the opposing lanes, shut down I-75 south of Perrysburg for about two hours Friday.

Enforcement efforts, he conceded, are hamstrung by the absence of shoulders, which gives patrols few places either to set up radar traps or to pull over speeders they might wish to cite.

“They’ve tried using the emergency pull-offs, but those are supposed to be there for emergencies,” Mr. Audet said.