Ohio
Looking for Ohio’s most expensive road projects of 2025? Why we have to wait to find out
Work continues on major highway construction projects
Work continues on major highway construction projects including I-70, I-71, I-270 and US Rt. 23 interchanges
Ohio road construction is a year-round reality, which makes sense when the Ohio Department of Transportation has to maintain more than 43,000 miles of highway.
Yet some projects, such as the plan to widen U.S. Route 33 near Columbus, are bigger than others.
What are the 10 most expensive ODOT projects of 2025? We won’t know the real answer for a few more months. Here’s why.
Why we have to wait to learn which road projects are Ohio’s most expensive in 2025
Visit ODOT’s projects page and you’ll see a slew of big-money construction projects on the agenda.
Some, such as the Brent Spence Bridge corridor construction in Cincinnati or the Interstate 70 and I-71 work in downtown Columbus, have costs that run to $1 billion or more. Even planned work with lower project costs have price tags that soar well into nine figures.
However, coming up with a definitive list of Ohio’s most expensive road projects at the start of the year is virtually impossible.
Why?
Well, you can partly blame the winter weather in the Buckeye State.
There are basically two ODOT seasons during the year – snow and ice removal, and construction season. Most construction projects don’t ramp up until the spring when the weather warms. That’s when ODOT bidding is over and project costs are finalized, according to Mat Bruning, press secretary for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
The Daniel Carter Beard Bridge in downtown Cincinnati is an exception to the winter construction rule. A fire underneath the bridge Nov. 1 caused severe structural damage, but it could reopen sooner than expected as ODOT takes special measures to move repairs along.
“We’re doing things differently to pour concrete in December and January than we would in June and July,” Bruning said.
Bruning also said the ideal temperatures to pour asphalt are 50 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. ODOT can cold patch potholes in the winter, but the materials and equipment are better suited for warmer temps that Ohio usually doesn’t have in the winter.
So if you want to see the most expensive ODOT projects of 2025, you’ll have to wait until the weather warms and the bids are finalized before construction workers break out the orange cones in Ohio.
Aerial video shows fire damage to Daniel Carter Beard Bridge
Drone video shows damages done to the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge by a massive fire. The damages caused a total closure of Interstate 471.