NORWOOD, Ohio — The Norwood Lateral project has been delayed again and crews won't be able to complete work on the westbound side of the roadway until at least the weekend of September 20, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation.
ODOT said the project on OH-562 was originally delayed by weather and "unforeseen issues with one of the structures that required additional work."
They said on Friday that two specific factors had delayed the project again: structural issues of the Ross Avenue bridge concrete pours, which were delayed because of heat, and now require an additional closure of the Paddock Road entrance ramp.
The westbound lanes were initially scheduled to close for roughly 80 days, beginning in June; the highway was supposed to fully reopen by the end of August, and then rescheduled for before Labor Day.
Now, ODOT said crews are aiming to finish the work by September 20.
While the westbound side of the lateral is closed, traffic will be diverted to either Ronald Reagan Highway or Fort Washington Way and I-75.
The construction includes rehabilitating the bridges over Paddock Road, Reading Road and Ross Avenue. Crews will be replacing joints and barriers, painting, installing new steel members and more, ODOT said. There will also be concrete repairs and resurfacing on the lateral between the Paddock Road interchange and I-71.
The eastbound lanes shut down March 11 and reopened 77 days later — a few days earlier than expected — on May 28.
"The directional closures were deemed necessary due to the width requirements to maintain traffic in a single lane over the bridges during construction," reads a statement from ODOT. "Closure will also expedite operations and reduce the overall or total impact to traffic."
The closure is also there to make sure crews are safe while working, ODOT said. Data from the Ohio State Highway Patrol shows the Norwood Lateral has seen more than 700 crashes since 2019.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story erroneously reported the need to add an entrance ramp. We regret the error.
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