NORWOOD, Ohio — The Norwood Lateral project has hit delays and crews won't be able to complete work on the westbound side of the roadway on the project's original schedule, according to an update from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
ODOT said the project on OH-562 has been delayed by weather and "unforseen issues with one of the structures that required additional work."
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, but ODOT said that's no longer possible.
Now, ODOT said crews are aiming to finish the work by the second week in September — 90 days from the start of the westbound lane closure.
"The contractors are making a lot of progress and a good bit of the bridge work is done," wrote ODOT spokesperson Kathleen Fuller in an email.
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.
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