Utility work will require lane closings this week on northbound Secor Road near the University of Toledo, while westbound Monroe Street will be constricted by a sewer repair near the Franklin Park Mall.
Both are likely to cause significant backups during rush hours.
The work zone on Monroe will be in place for five days between Royer and Talmadge roads. Taking Sylvania Avenue to Talmadge may be a better option, especially during the late afternoon.
Secor’s closings between College Drive and West Towerview Boulevard are scheduled to occur Monday through Thursday. Consider using Douglas Road instead during this work.
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A new federal rule setting standards for how much light main streets’ and roads’ pavement stripes reflect takes effect early next month, though it could be years before brighter stripes become widespread.
The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, which sets national standards for signs, lane markings, and other guidance on publicly used roadways and bikeways, now requires all pavement markings to be visible at night and requires those on interstate highways to be retroreflective. This means that they contain materials that not only show up in the dark, but actually reflect light. But until now there has been no minimum level for that.
The Federal Highway Administration stated that establishing a standard for lane stripes and edge lines should reduce severe crashes on dark, unlighted roadways and also ensure pavement markings are consistently bright enough to be seen by new vehicle technologies that rely on them for navigation.
The rule applies to streets and roads with speed limits of 35 mph or higher, and allows exceptions to be taken for roadways in brightly lit areas or those that handle fewer than 6,000 vehicles per day. It sets a four-year deadline for state and local road agencies to establish the method they will use to meet the standard when renewing pavement lines, but does not set any deadline for such renewal.
The standard applies only to dry pavement conditions. A commenter during the Federal Highway Administration’s rulemaking process noted that pavement markings’ visibility is arguably more important on wet roads, and the agency responded that it could consider a wet-pavement standard in the future.
The Toledo street upon which I’d most like to see brighter pavement markings is Michigan Street, particularly between Jefferson Avenue and Washington Street, where the paint the city uses seems to rub off quickly and is especially hard to see when it’s raining. But with a 25-mph speed limit and street lights, it probably won’t be affected by the new rule.
Gary Stookey, a senior city engineer, said he did not believe the new federal rule would significantly increase Toledo’s stripe-painting costs. The Federal Highway Administration notice said that to the extent it does increase road maintenance expense, that could be eligible for federal grant funding.
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We will soon get to see how bright the new lane stripes are on the newly rebuilt stretch of the Anthony Wayne Trail within the I-75 interchange area near downtown Toledo as well as on the Veterans’ Glass City Skyway.
With the inbound Trail’s ramp to northbound I-75 scheduled to reopen Wednesday, I had wondered last week if the final surface would be paved, and stripes painted, before then, and by Friday the gouge-outs where that new pavement will match to the rest of the roadway had appeared. So expect some unannounced nighttime closings while that paving is done and the new stripes are painted on the inbound side, followed by the outbound lanes.
Lane markings on the Skyway have been temporary since the completion of a deck resurfacing project last year because of materials shortages. But the needed supplies are on hand now and ODOT expects the permanent stripes to be done this week.
I-75 (Ohio): Reduced to two lanes northbound between Wales Road in Northwood and Dorr Street in Toledo and southbound from Dorr to Glenwood Road in Rossford for reconstruction and widening. South Avenue is closed between the southbound I-75 exit ramp and Kuhlman Drive until Sept. 2. The northbound I-75 exit and entrance at Miami Street are closed until late October. The northbound I-75 entrance from the Anthony Wayne Trail is closed until Wednesday. Ramp detours, some quite long, are posted and additional closings are possible at night and on weekends. The Trail is reduced to one lane in both directions beneath I-75 and may be closed at night during overhead bridge work.
I-75 (Mich.): Left lane closed both ways between Exit 5 (Erie Road) and Exit 11 (LaPlaisance Road) for pavement and shoulder repair, crossover construction, and other preparations for an upcoming reconstruction project. Lane and ramp closings also near the Newport Road interchange just north of I-275 for bridge replacement and other work.
I-280: Variable lane closings this week between State Rt. 2 (Navarre) and I-75 for lane stripe painting.
I-475/U.S. 23, Perrysburg-Holland Road: Traffic shift on the southbound side between State Rt. 2 (Airport) and U.S. 24 for temporary pavement construction in the median ahead of upcoming widening. Lane closings also are possible on I-475 near the Perrysburg-Holland Road bridge, which is closed for replacement. Perrysburg-Holland is detoured via Holland-Sylvania and Airport Highway.
Ohio Turnpike (I-80/90): Reconstruction in western Williams County reduces eastbound traffic to one lane for 4½ miles east of the Westgate tolls; two westbound lanes are maintained. Lanes closed between the Stony Ridge (I-280) and Elmore interchanges for resurfacing. Lane shifts or closings also possible near the new Swanton toll plaza.
U.S. 20 (Reynolds): Nighttime and weekend lane closings are possible at Heatherdowns Boulevard in southwest Toledo for resurfacing and traffic-signal replacement through August. Lane closings between South and Hill for preliminary work related to an upcoming bridge replacement.
U.S. 6/20: All ramp closings at the west end of the Fremont Bypass have ended, although scattered lane closings remain possible there.
U.S. 23 (Mich.): Nighttime lane closings north of Dundee for bridge work at Milwaukee Road.
U.S. 24: Lane closings in Paulding and Defiance counties for slope repair and pavement patching; the westbound exit at Baltimore Street in Defiance also is closed.
U.S. 224: Closed at State Rt. 587 in New Riegel, Seneca County, for roundabout construction at the intersection through August. Use U.S. 23 and State Rt. 18 instead. The Route 587 detour follows State Rts. 18 and 53.
State Rt. 2: Lanes closed in Oregon (Navarre Avenue) at Coy Road, which also is closed on both sides of the intersection, for gas main replacement through September. Lanes closed for pavement repair in the Port Clinton area through August.
State Rt. 25 (Anthony Wayne Trail): Reduced to one lane each way between Glendale and Detroit avenues for reconstruction. Sherwood or Copland may be closed during daytime hours for intersection paving.
State Rt. 25: Closed to through traffic between U.S. 6 and Cygnet Road for reconstruction. The specific piece of highway closed between those junctions will vary as work progresses. Use I-75 and U.S. 6 instead. Resurfacing north of Bowling Green is finished.
State Rt. 65: Closed between Roachton and Hull Prairie roads in Perrysburg and Perrysburg Township until mid-November for replacement of a pump station. Detour via Roachton and Hull Prairie.
State Rt. 184 (Alexis): Lane closings at Benore/Enterprise for bridge replacement through September. A traffic shift is scheduled for Thursday night to place traffic on the first half of the new structure. Enterprise is closed at Alexis.
State Rt. 235: Closed just south of State Rt. 281 in Wood County for two bridge replacements through September. Detour via State Rts. 281, 65, and 18.
State Rt. 295: Closed at Neapolis-Waterville Road for roundabout construction until late August. Detour via State Rt. 64 and U.S. 24.
First Published August 21, 2022, 6:55 p.m.
