MONTGOMERY COUNTY — A driver went home with a ticket for driving on a closed stretch of Interstate 75 on Tuesday.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 6:00, the incident happened at the end of the morning rush in the work zone on I-75 near Needmore Road.
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An Ohio Department of Transportation camera recorded the whole thing.
The camera captures two vehicles moving slowly down the snow-covered, closed, contraflow lane.
There’s an ODOT worker in a bobcat clearing snow and an SUV following behind.
At the end of the lane, the video shows two more ODOT workers with lights on waiting with a trailer for the bobcat.
Then there’s Ohio State Highway Patrol Lieutenant Dallas Root with his lights on, waiting for the driver.
“We had a little discussion about how he ended up where he was at,” Root said.
News Center 7’s John Bedell talked to Root about the traffic stop on Tuesday afternoon.
“He was cited for driving on a closed roadway,” Root said.
Root said the driver is from Nebraska and comes to the Miami Valley off and on for work. He added that he wasn’t too familiar with the area.
“He said he saw a small space in between the barrels, and he thought that meant he could travel through them, even though there’s clearly posted signage, arrow boards, and a half mile of barrels blocking,” Root said.
As previously reported by News Center 7, ODOT closed the contraflow lane ahead of this weekend’s winter storm.
It’s not unusual to see it temporarily closed during winter storms.
However, it is unusual and against the law to see what happened on Tuesday.
Which is why that driver left with a ticket and a court date.
“Those ODOT workers are out there working tirelessly to take care of the roadways and ensure the safety of our motoring public. And we have to do our part to make sure that they are safe. That they can get the roadways cleared, maintained, and they can go home to their families,” Root said.
ODOT confirmed to News Center 7 that they’re working to get snow out of the contraflow lane.
Right now, they’re unsure when it will reopen.
News Center 7 will continue to follow this story.
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