On July 12th, Governor Mike DeWine joined ODOT in a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new I-70 lane addition.
Governor Mike DeWine:
“Everybody. Thank you, everybody. Well, good morning. Let me also thank everybody who had a part in this great, great, great work. This is a day that certainly we’ve been looking forward to for a long time. You know, there’s a lot of things that make Ohio very strong and a state that is really looking to the future. But one of the things that makes us strong is our infrastructure and our highways.
One of the advantages that we have in Ohio and I hear this time and time again as I talk to CEOs and try to get them to bring more businesses to Ohio. One of the things that they recognize is our location. Within a day’s drive of right here, we’ve got 60% of the population of the United States, we’ve got 60% of the population of Canada.
I don’t have to tell you all about the interstates that cross Ohio. A couple of facts about this project. $50 million. Seven different bridges completing the third lane between Route 68 and 72. So basically from Dayton to Columbus now, we have six lanes, three on each side. And we’ve all been waiting for that day. That day has finally come and we’re very, very happy about that.
What we celebrate today is important for highway safety. It’s important to save lives. But it’s also important as we attract more businesses to Ohio and we grow Ohio and we create more jobs in this state. So that is a competitive advantage, but it’s only a competitive advantage if we keep our roads up.”