As 2022 draws to a close, it was another momentous year for the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission’s capital improvement program. Major construction projects included pavement replacement and resurfacing and bridge construction as well as modernizing the toll collection system (TCS).
Roadway construction included three projects replacing nearly 28 lane miles of pavement. That included eastbound lanes from milemark 2.8 to 7.26 in Williams County; eastbound lanes from milemark 208.2 to 212.8 in Trumbull County; and westbound lanes from mikemark 236.3 to 241.2 in Mahoning County.
In addition, two resurfacing jobs resulted in about 70 lane miles of new pavement and entailed all lanes and shoulders from milemark 73.95 to 80.5 through Wood, Ottawa and Sandusky counties; and the right and center lanes, and right shoulder from milemark 178.05 to 185.65 in Summit County. The lanes at Toll Plaza 187–Streetsboro also were newly paved.
TCS modernization work continued in 2022 with the construction of new mainline toll plazas at milemark 4 in Williams County and milemark 211 in Trumbull County nearing completion. Work continues on the upgrading of 20 existing toll plaza interchanges to integrate with components of TCS as well as the removal of entry gates in E-ZPass lanes. The new system will feature open road E-ZPass tolling.
Work this year also involved construction on 13 bridges. Four were widened; one was removed and another removal started; four bridge decks were replaced; the complete replacement of one bridge was begun; and two bridges received new paint.
The turnpike commission maintains more than 530 bridges across the 241-mile toll road that traverses 13 counties in northern Ohio.
