ODOT Backs Off Plan To Close 5th and 7th Street Overpasses

The City of Zanesville learned Monday that the Ohio Department of Transportation has decided to make a major change to the I-70 reconstruction plan. Initially ODOT announced plans to replace the I-70 bridges over the Muskingum River, and that is still in place. But they have also decided against the closing of the Fifth & Seventh Street overpasses. Community leaders, law enforcement and businesses in the Zanesville area were against the plan since it would have caused a traffic nightmare in the downtown and would slow response time for law enforcement and the Zanesville Fire Department. In October the president of the Zanesville Muskingum County Chamber of Commerce expressed his concern about the plan by saying “We’re involved in downtown revitalization, but bigger than that, Muskingum County is a north-south artery for transportation.” City officials were advised on the changes by ODOT’S District Environmental Coordinator Brian Tatman in a letter obtained by Whiz News.