New I-75 ramp opening at CR 99

FINDLAY — The new Interstate 75 southbound entrance ramp from County Road 99 is now open. The Ohio Department of Transportation has announced traffic will be switched to the new interstate entrance ramp as part of an update on the diverging diamond project and County Road 99 corridor upgrade. For drivers, the change is a swap from the old entrance ramp. A traffic update from ODOT said the related I-75 southbound lane closure is expected to open this week as well. Along with the opening of the ramp, ODOT has announced a shifting of traffic to the south side of the roadway on County Road 99 between Speedway Drive and North Main, starting Wednesday. The change is happening to allow for the completion of drainage work on the north side of the road. One lane of traffic will be maintained in both directions. A notice from the ODOT Northwest Ohio District 1 Facebook page said the area is expected to be congested due to the traffic switch and drivers should "be sure to to give yourself extra time" if attempting to navigate the affected area. The Courier reported earlier in the year the $31 million upgrade of the interchange between I-75 and County Road 99 is expected to continue into 2026 and is expected to ease traffic flow and enable more business and residential growth in the area. The divergent diamond arrangement being used in the I-75-CR 99 projects is likened to what is used in the Interstate 475 and U.S 20-Ohio 25 interchange near Levis Commons. The project will involve building a second bridge across I-75 just south of the existing County Road 99 bridge; reconfiguring and rebuilding the deck on 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. "Traffic backups on County Road 99 and also on the ramps as traffic exits I-75 is really dangerous," Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks said during an April 2024 press conference. "The existing interchange cannot support the demand as it carries 56% more traffic than it was designed to handle." The change will 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. Traffic volumes on the corridor have been increasing for years and show no sign of letting up. The project currently remains on track with the next step to be moving traffic on the new bridge in 2025.