The rest areas on both sides of I-75 in Butler County (just south of exit 29) and Auglaize County (just north of exit 113) will close July 7 for complete replacement and are slated to reopen in summer 2026.
ODOT Chief Communications Officer David Rose said the reason all of them will be closed at once is that the state bundled the projects to get the best price from the contractors doing the work.
“We’re trying to do the right thing, to save money,” Rose said.
He said this strategy allows a contractor to move between nearby projects, rather than one near West Virginia and one near the Indiana line. Setterlin is the contractor for both the Butler County and Auglaize County projects.
Tom Balzer, president and CEO for the Ohio Trucking Association, said the multiple rest area closures are a mix of good and bad news, but will eventually help truck drivers and other travelers.
“It’s definitely something that is challenging for the industry, but in the long run it’s going to be a great thing,” Balzer said.
Gov. Mike DeWine announced the statewide project in 2023, with plans to update about three dozen of Ohio’s 80-plus rest areas along major highways.
ODOT officials didn’t immediately respond to Dayton Daily News questions about the cost of the new rest areas this week. They told Cleveland.com in 2023 that one newly finished rest area in northeast Ohio had cost $4 million, but that the overall price tag was unclear.
Rose of ODOT said all the new rest areas will have the lodge-style design and are “pretty incredible,” calling them a great experience for visitors — combining traveler safety with educational information about local attractions “really promoting the state.”
The new buildings — 5,400 interior square feet and 1,500 square feet of outdoor covered porch — will include larger restrooms with universal changing tables, a lobby area with vending and tourism information, plus outdoor picnic areas, dog trails, rocking chairs, Storybook Trails and Ohio music playing from outdoor speakers.
Balzer said the Ohio Trucking Association has been involved in the re-envisioned rest area planning from the beginning, saying additional truck parking space has been a huge issue — something that’s visible to both truckers, or nighttime drivers who see trucks stretching down the entrance and exit ramps of existing rest areas as drivers try to sleep.
“Any time there are trucks (parked) on the side of the road, that’s going to potentially cause a hazard. ... Increasing the front parking spots is definitely something we’ve been begging for for years,” Balzer said. “... (State officials) were gracious enough to put $200 million in their budget specifically for truck parking, which is going to continue to make our roads safer.”
Rose said once all the rest areas are back open in July 2026, truck parking spaces will more than double from 103 to 241, hopefully limiting the number of trucks parked along ramps and shoulders.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Asked if the closures this summer would push many truckers to stop at Love’s, Pilot, or other truck stop businesses instead, Balzer said many of them are at capacity for parking as well. Representatives of the Pilot/Flying J chain did not immediately respond for comment about the issue.
“We understand there’s going to be some short-term pain (with rest area closures), as with any construction process, but the industry will adapt, knowing that we’ll get some long-term benefit out of it,” Balzer said.
Starting July 7, the nearest I-75 rest area open to the south will be the Florence, Kentucky site (about 13 miles south of the Ohio River), and the nearest one to the north will be just north of mile marker 152, near Findlay.
Love’s has Travel Stop stores along I-75 exits in Dayton and Sidney, while Pilot/Flying J has stores in Franklin and Vandalia.
“The re-imagined rest areas are designed to provide travelers, truck drivers, and families a safe place to recharge and refocus before getting back on the road,” Rose said, also promoting the tourism angle again. “The goal is to have people return again and again and experience everything Ohio has to offer.”
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