For Immediate Release

November 25, 2014

Six Lanes Now Open From Columbus and Cleveland

COLUMBUS – Many Ohioans will have reason to give thanks this holiday season because there will be three lanes in both directions on Interstate 71 between Columbus and Cleveland just in time for Thanksgiving, one of the busiest travel times in the state.

The final widening project between Morrow and Richland counties has progressed far enough that all six lanes are now open.

“Three years ago, we made a commitment to widen the last 25-mile stretch of 71 that was two lanes,” said Lt. Gov. Mary Taylor. “We constructed these projects on time and on budget, and that means safer and more efficient for more than half of all Ohioans.

The project to widen I-71 between SR 95 in Morrow County and the Richland County line started first, followed by the stretch of 71 between Delaware County and SR 61 in Morrow County. Both of those projects are completed finished.

The final project between SR 61 and SR 95 is now three lanes, but the final course of asphalt will not be complete until next year.

To grasp this transportation milestone, you have to go back a half a century to 1963 when the first Interstate 71 project began in Cleveland. Fast forward some fifty years and close to a billion dollars later, there are now six lanes of travel between Columbus and Cleveland.

In 2010, funding became available through the state’s multi-lane pavement rehabilitation program to widen the last 25-mile stretch through Delaware and Morrow counties.

Interstate 71 is a national transportation corridor that brings travelers from all over the United States to Ohio.

For up-to-date traffic information, construction information and road conditions, 24-hours a day, visit www.OHGO.com .

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