ODOT, city officials hold ribbon cutting for US-35 and Woodman interchange

RIVERSIDE, Ohio ( WDTN ) — A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held Thursday for the new interchange at US-35 and Woodman Drive.

Spanning almost 12 years, the $10.3 million project moved the US-35 ramps closer to the Woodman Drive bridge. Ramps and turn lanes have been widened, and 12-foot sidewalks added for pedestrians.

Project leaders reflected on the loss of life that occurred during the project when a construction worker died after being hit by a semi-truck on the job site last year. That worker was identified as 28-year-old Jonathan Schmidt.

“It’s always, it’s just terrible that that happened. We made some changes to how it was being constructed, how the traffic flow was being handled on 35 after that so fortunately we didn’t have any other incidents after that time,” said ODOT District 7 Deputy Director Bud O’Brien.

Renovations are expected to create a safer, smoother roadway that will allow for higher traffic volumes in the future.

Officials say about 65,000 vehicles use this stretch of highway daily.

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