ODOT is keeping busy with projects across Ohio.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is performing $15.8 million worth of improvements in Allen County this year. Deputy One Deputy Director Chris Hughes told us this includes the repair and resurfacing of I-75 from north of Route 81 to Beaverdam, the resurfacing of State Route 309 from the fairgrounds to Hardin County and the repair and resurfacing of State Route 117 from Greely Chapel Road to Logan County. "This is probably one of the last times, if not the last time that we will be able to do work on I-75 with closures that go on day after day. From Beaverdam going north next year, except for a month where we have to do some bridge work, we're going to limit that to night time only closures." Next year, 11 projects totaling $30.4 million are planned for Allen County, including the full reconstruction of I-75 in Beaverdam which will include the repair of the bridge over the interstate and the replacement of the concrete barrier with a grass median. Hughes says they're also working on projects that will address safety issues on Thayer Road at both 309 and 30, and at Napoleon and 309, all of which have been recent locations of a number of serious accidents. Funding for this work is being made possible, in part, by the increase in the gas tax. Hughes says this will generate an estimated additional revenue of $450 million annually for ODOT and $370 million annually for local governments. Hughes says ODOT has been borrowing money to make road improvements, and this additional funding should keep them from having to go into debt.
Also at Monday's meeting, the Lima Rotary Scholarship Committee awarded scholarships to nine students. These students are attending Bluffton University, Rhodes State College, The Ohio State University – Lima and the University of Northwestern Ohio. They are pursuing degrees in Healthcare Administration, Early Childhood Education, Registered Nursing, Registered Dietician and an AA as an Executive Administrative Assistant. The members of the Rotary Club wish them the best in their field of studies and in the careers they have selected. To-date the Club has award 1022 Scholarships for a total of $753,250.
And the Lima Rotary Foundation presented its quarterly grants:
Lima Symphony- $3,865
DARE- $2,000
High Octane Drumline- $2,000
Soldiers of Honor Boxing- $2,000
