Ohio Department of Transportation invites Icon viewers to make public comments on the projected removal of the twin overpasses on Interstate 75 near State Route 103.

A public meeting on the topic is at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, April 12, in the Bluffton town hall.

The meeting’s legal purposed is described this way by ODOT:

“A stakeholder meeting to discuss the department’s project that proposes to evaluate options to remove the HAN-75-0124 L&R structures carrying IR-75 over an abandoned railroad and CR-33 just north of the SR-103 interchange (Exit 142) in Hancock County, Ohio to address bridge deficiencies, slope stability, and safety along the IR 75 corridor.”

As reported earlier in the Icon, this project is slated for 2021. The bridges are 0.3 miles north of Exit 142 at State Route 103.

The project involves removal of the bridges and reconstruction of the pavement over the abandoned railroad.

The overpasses were constructed to cross the Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad when the Interstate was constructed around Bluffton in the early 1960s.

The railroad was abandoned in the 1980s, but the twin bridges remained in place.

Persons with questions prior to the meeting can contact Mark Mueller, ODOT District 1 Project Manager, at (419) 999-6889.