Work completed on Route 28 corridor

For the first time in years, motorists on state Route 28 traveling east from Milford will be able to do so without encountering a single orange barrel.

The state Route 28 corridor improvement project, which has included road widening and relocation, has reached its conclusion after three years of constant work.

“It’s great to see a project that started when I was a trustee and with the county engineer’s office,” said state representative Joe Uecker. “It seems like a teenager to many of us, and we need to put that teenager to rest.”

While actual construction has been a constant companion to motorists for three years, the project itself has been in various stages of activity for more than 30 years. Hans Jindal, with the Ohio Department of Transportation, said that the project is fairly unique, if for only one reason.

"I'm very proud to be a part of this, this project started in 1972," said Jindal. "This project is on schedule and on budget."

In fact, the ribbon cutting ceremony held on Sept. 21 officially ended the project more than a month before it was due to be completed, and significantly under the budgeted amount for the project.

"This job came in about two months ahead of schedule," said Jason Haus of ODOT. "We are currently about $300,000 under budget. There are still things that need to be paid, but it should come in under the original bid of $6.4 million."