Ohio Department of Transportation calls for caution during construction season

BELPRE, Ohio. (WTAP) - The Ohio Department of Transportation, also known as ODOT, is kicking off construction season this week.

ODOT is scheduled to invest 1.92 billion dollars into projects across Ohio.

In Washington County specifically, there will be about 12 million invested, according to Ashley Rittenhouse, district 10′s spokesperson.

This will go into projects like landslide repairs, bridge work, and then there’s the biggest investment - resurfacing I77.

While construction brings progress, it also brings inconvenience. You may have to give your morning commute a few extra minutes.

Rittenhouse said, “They might encounter a road closure and might have to detour or they might encounter a lane closure and have to sit for a few minutes at a temporary signal…,”

An easy way to keep tabs on roadwork is going on ohgo.com or downloading the ohgo app.

With all this work being done, Rittenhouse warned that people need to be extra cautious around construction sites. In 2020, 125 ODOT crews were struck and there were 4,500 work zone crashes across Ohio.

In 2021 alone, 52 ODOT crews have already been hit.

Rittenhouse said, “..., and here it is only April and we’re just now really ramping up. I mean, you have to think, most of the winter these people have been in their plow trucks. Now there’s going to be bodies on the road working.”

Remember, if you pass by a parked vehicle with flashing or rotating lights, you are required by law to move over a lane if possible.

Rittenhouse said, “They’re just doing their jobs - both our maintenance workers and our contractors and they just want to get home to their families at the end of the day.”

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