Construction in Champaign County will disrupt commutes

Thousands of workers at one of the Miami Valley’s largest employers will have their commutes disrupted by road work in Champaign County this summer.

The Ohio Department of Transportation will close lanes on Ohio 4 and Ohio 29 near Mechanicsburg through the end of August to make repairs, said Mandi Dillon, ODOT District 7 spokeswoman.

Ohio 4 is a main route for workers from Clark and Champaign counties who travel to the Honda plant in Marysville.

“If this is part of your normal commute, you may want to add a little extra time, especially if you’re traveling during rush hour,” Dillon said.

Traffic will be able to get through the roads, she said, but there may be delays. Flaggers will direct traffic through one open lane at times.

Lane closures won’t be constant, Dillon said, but will usually last about 24 hours. Construction started in June and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31.

Construction will occur on Ohio 4 between the Clark County line and the southern village limit of Mechanicsburg, Dillon said, and between the western village limit of Mechanicsburg and the Madison County line on Ohio 29.

“If you have an alternate route to get where you’re going, you may want to take that,” she said.

ODOT workers will repave the roads, she said, as well as make repairs to bridges and guard rails.

Jerry Gossett travels through Mechanicsburg on Ohio 4 many times a week.

“Anybody who’s lived out here knows you have to occasionally use alternative routes,” Gossett said.

But drivers taking alternate routes could hurt local businesses, he said.

“This is the only route for a lot of these businesses,” he said. “If they want to catch Honda traffic, this is it.

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