In The News 7 February 2025

Governor DeWine announces southbound I-471 to reopen Sunday

CINCINNATI – Ohio Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) Director Pamela Boratyn announced today that the southbound lanes of Interstate 471 approaching the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge will reopen on Sunday evening, exactly 100 days after the roadway was severely damaged by fire.

“Reopening southbound access to this bridge in just over three months is a tremendous accomplishment," said Governor DeWine. "The closure of these lanes wasn't only an inconvenience but also a disruption to the supply chain. I applaud our ODOT team and their partners for working hard to finish the project ahead of schedule."

The Ohio Department of Transportation, Great Lakes Construction, more than two dozen sub-contractors, and other partners worked together to design the demolition and reconstruction of the damaged section of highway, fabricate the needed materials, and manage traffic around the closure during the work.

Between now and Sunday, crews will put finishing touches on the roadway, including grinding and grooving the deck, final welding below the expansion joint seal, and pavement striping. 

“Emergency projects require a lot of very quick action and around-the-clock work,” said Director Boratyn. “I am extremely proud of the efforts put in to getting this bridge and highway fully reopened.”

ODOT will announce an exact reopening time on social media about an hour before the final barricades are removed.

Add new comment

This is not for publication.
This is not for publication.
About text formats

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.
Article comments are not posted immediately to the Web site. Each submission must be approved by the Web site editor, who may edit content for appropriateness. There may be a delay of 24-48 hours for any submission while the web site editor reviews and approves it. Note: All information on this form is required. Your telephone number and email address is for our use only, and will not be attached to your comment.