Joe Shaw, P.E., P.S.

The Monroe Street bridge closure over US-23 duration is around 25 percent complete. Miller Brothers Construction had a great first month of construction during March. The closure was set March 8 and motorists had their first attempts at managing detour routes on March 9.

A good navigational rule of thumb for the closure is to travel in a clockwise direction. For example, if you are on the west side of the bridge heading east, travel north through Michigan using left hand turns. Similarly, if you are on the east side of the bridge heading west travel south through Ohio using left hand turns.

Traveling counterclockwise forces motorists to use left turning lanes at signalized intersections. In particular, heavy left turning movements exist from southbound Holland-Sylvania Road to westbound Sylvania Avenue and from westbound Sylvania Avenue to northbound Corey/Whiteford Road. Signal timing adjustments at these intersections has been limited due to the amount of heavy through traffic that allready exists on Sylvania Avenue.

Bridge work is on schedule. Miller Brothers had the deck fully removed within the first two weeks of the closure and has all bridge beams jacked and temporarily supported to allow for pier cap work. There are three existing piers and all are undergoing chipping and hand removal work to allow for new concrete to be placed to raise their bearing height. The Monroe Street bridge has been struck several times since its opening in 1962, raising the pier caps this should greatly help reduce any future strikes.

All new pier caps are scheduled to be poured by the end of April, with new bearings set in early May. Motorists will see the bridge develop quickly in May with the deck falsework placed and reinforcing steel set to allow for an early June deck pour.

Outside of the bridge limits, Miller Brothers has been working steadily on roadway items, such as a new waterline crossing of US-23 and all new storm sewer. New catch basins are being set and all pavements are being fully reconstructed between Harroun Road and Acres Drive, complete with a new underdrain system.

Monroe Street west of the bridge, nearest to Kroger ,is scheduled to be paved in late April with north side work to begin in May. On the east side of the bridge the Monroe Street nighttime resurfacing work between Acres Drive and Nantucket Drive (Toledo) will begin in May and should be fully completed by mid-June.

Downtown Sylvania roadwork

On Main Street, the utility aerial bury project between Maplewood Avenue and Erie Street is fully underway. Buckeye Cable, Charter Spectrum, Frontier Communications, and Toledo Edison aerial facilities are being buried below grade in new conduits and duct banks. This will allow for the utility poles to be removed so the first block of Main Street north of Monroe Street matches the second block.

The city’s contractor, FET Construction, is on schedule to have below grade facilities ready for owner relocations by the end of May. Each of the four utilities will then begin the transfer from above grade to below grade and will tie-in all new services to businesses and residents in that block.

The city will begin the Phase 2 roadway construction advertisement process in late April with the goal of having the contract ready for award by early June. Roadway work can begin in July after the city’s grant funding agreement with the Ohio Public Works Commission has been signed. It is the city’s intent to get as much of the Phase 2 project completed as possible in 2026 as weather allows. Any remaining work items would be completed in the spring of 2027 with all work items finished by Memorial Day 2027.