TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - Another closure is coming – the Anthony Wayne Bridge is shutting down to one lane each way for painting. A project that is expected to take almost a year to complete.
Lane restrictions were set to happen Monday, but ODOT engineers are experiencing a set back already.
They are working to get everything ready so crews can start the painting, but ships are still coming in and out of the port on the Maumee River. Every time one goes under the Anthony Wayne Bridge, it sets crews back, sometimes for five hours.
"Every time a ship goes through, they clear the work area, so if a ship happens to snag a cable that nobody gets hurt," said ODOT engineer David Geckle.
Once engineers are finished installing safety cables under the bridge, that is when the lane restrictions will start.
Geckle says he expects that this will happen within the next few days.
"Right now, eastbound will be reduced to one lane, and then after the 1st of the year, westbound will also be reduced to one lane," Geckle said.
These lanes won't be opening back up for almost a year. Not until November 2017 are ODOT leaders expecting the project to be finished.
This isn't the first time the bridge has been a traffic issue for people traveling from downtown and east Toledo.
"We did the rehabilitation within a couple years ago, finished up in 2015, and we start painting," Geckle said. "And hopefully we don't have to repaint this bridge for another 25 to 30 years down the road."
The bridge will be a darker shade of blue.
The good news is that this is one of the only new construction headaches drivers will be experiencing for a while.
ODOT engineers say almost everything is in its permanent traffic pattern for the winter.
