Ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the grand opening of Dorr St. interchange
The interchange will be fully operational before midnight tonight.
TOLEDO, Ohio — This morning, a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to mark the grand opening of the Dorr St. interchange at I-475 in West Toledo. In attendance of this morning’s ceremony, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks, Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, Rep. Paula Hicks-Hudson, Rep. Michael Sheehy and more.
This project, which has been two years in the making, will provide a more convenient experience for Toledo drivers: access to 475 between Airport Highway and Central Avenue.
“The addition of roundabouts and improvements made on Dorr St. will embrace safety, Governor Mike DeWine’s number one transportation objective: to make the system safer for all of us,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks.
Local officials say this new interchange will put an end to other inefficiencies, with Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz sharing the story of one woman who had put an additional 200 miles on her vehicle due to the lack of highway access between Airport and Central.
“Her job involves daycare, and it’s 200 extra miles per week that she put on her car just by not being able to exit here,” said Kapszukiewciz.
Lt. Governor Jon Husted says that this project was funded by local, state and federal funds and that collaboration was a crucial aspect to getting it done in time for the 2021 Solheim Cup, which starts at the beginning of next month.
“I got a call last year from some friends in Toledo- local officials, business leaders, saying ‘Hey, we got a pandemic — are we gonna be able to get this thing done in time for the Solheim Cup?’. And I immediately got on the phone with Jack Marchbanks and ODOT, they reassured me that we were gonna do that,” Husted said.
Toledoans at today’s ceremony say they believe this interchange will help to relieve congestion on 475 through West Toledo. The interchange officially opens tonight at 10 p.m., as workers still have signage to remove.
