Wooster widening begins; public forum tonight

The long-awaited project to widen Wooster Street is now under way.

Aimed at easing traffic congestion along the route, the project will widen Wooster Street to five lanes between I-75 and Mercer Road and to three lanes between Mercer Road and the CSX railroad crossing. Traffic signal improvements are planned at the intersections of Wooster and Thurstin Avenue, Mercer Road, and Campbell Hill Road. In addition, plans call for new sidewalks and new pavement.

The city of Bowling Green will host a public forum at 7 p.m. tonight (March 4) to discuss the project. The meeting, the first in a series of public forums, will be held in the banquet center at Woodland Towne Centre, 1234 N. Main St.

Officials from the Ohio Department of Transportation, the city of Bowling Green and Kokosing Construction of Columbus, the contractor, will describe the project, discuss the construction schedule and its impact on traffic, and answer questions. Plans call for holding similar forums on campus after spring break.

Preliminary survey work for the project is under way and tree removal was to have begun Wednesday (March 3).

ODOT is in charge of the $6.03 million project, which is scheduled for completion in August 2005. The city of Bowling Green is responsible for 20 percent of the construction costs, which include engineering, design and acquisition of the right of way. The remaining 80 percent of the project is being funded with federal dollars.

Initial work this spring and summer will involve underground utility improvements, chiefly sewer work on East Wooster Street and along the west side of Mercer Road Street, and the widening of Wooster Street between Mercer and I-75. One lane of traffic in each direction will be maintained. However, turning lanes will be eliminated during construction, so motorists can expect to experience some delays due to stopped traffic.

Because of the project’s potential impact on motor and pedestrian traffic, the University has formed a Wooster Widening Committee. The committee’s charge is to gather information about campus activities that might impact the traffic volume through the construction zone as well as relay project information to the University community and BGSU visitors.

ODOT administrator Joseph W. Rutherford, chief spokesman for the project, said a Web site will be created this week to provide project information and updates. The campus committee plans to assist ODOT in making information available to students, faculty, staff and campus visitors. One way will be by creating a link to the ODOT project page from the University’s own Web site.

The campus committee is co-chaired by Mary Beth Zachary, University Libraries, and Wayne Colvin, Information Technology Services. Colvin, who was heavily involved in the University’s BGsupernet project, will be the University’s chief liaison to the ODOT project.

Other members of the University-wide committee include representatives of Facilities Services, Recreational Sports, Admissions, Athletics, the College of Musical Arts, Orientation and Registration, Undergraduate Student Government, Marketing & Communications, Theatre and Film, Classified Staff Council, Graduate Student Senate, Capital Planning, the Office of the President, Public Safety, Undergraduate Student Government and Residence Life.