By JARED ORZOLEK

orzolek@crescent-news.com

The four-lane section of U.S. 24 that runs between Defiance and Napoleon has given motorists a taste of what the Fort to Port project will bring to northwest Ohio.

Construction of the highway east and west of this completed section is moving ahead on schedule, officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) report.

West of Defiance, construction of the new U.S. 24 is taking place south of the current alignment of the highway to the Indiana border at a cost of $144.5 million.

"The project west of Defiance is progressing very well and we are still on schedule for opening the roadway the first part of November," said Rhonda Pees, ODOT District 1 spokesman. "We have had very agreeable weather for construction this year, which has contributed to us keeping the project on schedule."

The contractors for the western section, from the Indiana line to U.S. 127, are Beaver Excavating of Canton and Mosser Construction Inc. of Fremont. The contractors for the section from U.S. 127 to Defiance are E.S. Wagner Co. of Oregon and Anthony Allega Cement Contractor of Cleveland.

A significant aspect of this project is a new interchange at U.S. 24 and Baltimore Road on the west side of Defiance. This interchange will not open to traffic until the entire highway opens in November, but traffic patterns are expected to change at this intersection on Tuesday, Pees said.

Currently, westbound traffic crosses over to Baltimore Road at a traffic light and returned to U.S. 24 on the other side of the interchange.

Pees said the new traffic pattern will move westbound traffic down the westbound off ramp.

"At the bottom of the ramp, there will be a stop sign with designated left and right turn lanes allowing traffic to turn whichever way," Pees said.

Eastbound traffic will continue on its current path, which travels off U.S. 24, down Baltimore Road to a traffic signal and back onto the highway.

Pees said the traffic signal will be taken out of service.

"Instead of being controlled by the signal, eastbound traffic will turn onto the eastbound lanes when breaks in traffic allow it. The new traffic pattern will allow us to complete the construction on the east end of the project," Pees said.

East of Napoleon, sections of the project that run between Napoleon and Toledo, north of the current U.S. 24 route, are underway.

Theresa Pollick, spokesman for ODOT District 2, said the project is moving ahead on schedule.

"The dry weather in early and mid-July helped with the western project and progress on all other U.S. 24 projects in District 2," Pollick said.

This portion of the project is being completed in three sections. The west section, from Napoleon to Henry County Road 4-A, is scheduled for completion in November 2011. The central section, from Henry County 4-A to Hertzfeld Road in Lucas County, is underway as is the eastern section from Hertzfeld Road to the current U.S. 24 northeast of Waterville.

Contractor for the west and central portions of the $168 million project is Miller Brothers Construction of Archbold, and the east section is under construction by Mosser Construction Inc. and Beaver Excavating Co.

The new highway will not open to traffic until the entire section from Napoleon to Waterville opens to traffic in July 2012, Pollick said.

A significant aspect of this project is a new interchange being built on Ohio 109 that will connect to U.S. 24.

Pollick said this will be a standard diamond interchange and the bridge will feature a barn design on the superstructure.

"Each new interchange throughout the entire new U.S. 24 alignment will receive special design details," Pollick said.

The portion of this interchange that passes over Ohio 109 should be complete by December, according to Pollick. This will allow traffic to be shifted from a temporary road around the interchange to the new section of Ohio 109.

The completion of the Fort to Port project is expected to provide an economic boost to northwest Ohio through key transportation infrastructure.

For more information on the Fort to Port project, visit the ODOT website at www.dot.state.oh.us and click on the District 1 or District 2 pages.