Ribbon cutting will open new lanes on Woody Hayes Drive bridge

A two-year project to widen and improve the Woody Hayes Drive bridge over the Olentangy River will be essentially complete on Tuesday (12/7.) A ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the additional two new lanes of the four-lane structure will begin at 3 p.m. in the Ohio Stadium N.W. parking lot (below the southeast corner of the bridge).

The ribbon-cutting will follow brief remarks by Jim Stevens, associate vice president for physical facilities; Bill Shkurti, senior vice president for business and finance; Thomas Gregiore, associate dean of the College of Social Work; and the Honorable Steven Hayes, son of the late Coach Woody Hayes. The ceremony will also celebrate the Hayes family legacy at Ohio State.
The eight funds in the Hayes family name have generated more than $2 million in educational support money at the university.

Following the ribbon cutting, Judge Hayes will be the first official passenger over the new $9.8 million bridge, riding in a 1951 Mack Ohio State pickup truck. Several former Ohio State football players who played for Woody Hayes during his coaching tenure at Ohio State from 1951 to 1978 will follow in other vintage autos.

Built to replace a 1904 railroad bridge, the original two-lane bridge was constructed in 1921 as the university prepared to open Ohio Stadium. The new structure offers four 12-foot lanes with ten-foot sidewalks on each side, as well as ADA-compliant accessibility to the bridges from the parking areas.

WHAT: Ribbon cutting ceremony will open new lanes of the Woody Hayes Drive bridge

WHEN: 3 p.m. on Tuesday (12/7)

WHERE: Ohio Stadium N.W. parking lot (below southeast corner of bridge)

WHY: The new bridge offers improved transportation across campus and improved reliability for campus utilities customers.