Findlay confirms $1M for interchange project

Planning for the $34.2 million reconfiguration of the Interstate 75-County Road 99 interchange continues, with the city of Findlay reaffirming its $1 million commitment to the project on Tuesday. Council voted Tuesday in regular session to rush through legislation authorizing the Ohio Department of Transportation to work within the city limits on Hancock County Road 99, from Technology Drive to Main Street, as part of the construction, and reaffirming the city's contribution. The legislation was introduced to council on Tuesday. A motion to suspend council's three-reading rule approved was 10-0. The ordinance was also approved 10-0. The state is expected to spend about $32.58 million on the project. Hancock County has committed $200,000. Construction is expected to take place over the next year and a half, with the interchange expected to be converted to a diverging diamond configuration by fall 2025. The interchange upgrade will allow traffic to flow more freely and smoothly on County Road 99 and the entrance and exit ramps for I-75. Long backups of stopped vehicles on the bridge and ramps should be eliminated. In the current situation, vehicles sometimes stack on the I-75 ramps nearly all the way to the through lanes of I-75. The change is expected to allow safer and freer traffic flow not only at the interchange, but the entire County Road 99 corridor from just west of Technology Drive to just east of Main Street. The area is a corridor for distribution centers, factories, tournaments at The Cube and Marathon Diamonds, residential neighborhoods and car dealerships. Blanchard Valley Health System bought land southwest of the interchange in 2018 for future medical, residential and recreational sites. Traffic volumes on the corridor have been increasing for years. The project will involve building a second bridge across I-75 just south of the existing County Road 99 bridge, reconfiguring the existing bridge, reconstruction or widening of the existing ramps and widening of County Road 99 from Technology Drive to Main Street, storm sewer upgrades, drainage and erosion control, traffic signals, traffic control and lighting, and construction of sidewalks and a shared-use path. During construction, traffic will be maintained in order to minimize the impact on local businesses. Signage and way-finding also will be installed to assist in the effort.