CLICK HERE for the April 16, 2018, story involving ODOT's original plans for the bridge replacement.

Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) announced this week that it plans to rehabilitate rather than remove the bridges on Interstate 75, just north of State Route 103, outside of Bluffton.

The announcement was made in a letter to stakeholders in the project, which included the Village of Bluffton.

The entire letter is attached at the bottom of this story –

The reason for the change is that Norfolk Southern is unwilling to dispose of its property, which includes the abandon right-of-way of the former Akron, Canton and Youngstown Railroad. The abandoned railroad land goes under the bridge on I-75.

ODOT now plans to join the bridge project with another Interstate 75 project. That project is the overall resurfacing of Interstate 75 just south of the Napoleon Road interchange in Allen County to just south of the State Route 235 interchange in Hancock County.

The project will also include approximately one mile of complete reconstruction near the Village of Beaverdam, as well as the rehabilitation of the interstate bridges over County Road 33, near State Route 103.

The project is scheduled for construction in 2022, however, ODOT is making preparations to construct the project as soon as 2020, if funding becomes available.