If you travel from the Mahoning Valley to Cleveland frequently, then you’ll be glad to know that work has been completed on adding express lanes to the Valley View Bridge that carries traffic 212 feet above the Cuyahoga River Valley.

Carrying 180,000 cars and trucks each day, the 4,100-foot-long span is the busiest bridge in Ohio.

Officials held a ceremonial ribbon cutting to hearken to opening a third bridge between the existing two bridges along Interstate 480.

Completion of the nearly seven-year-long, $222.8 million project carries traffic along two lanes in each direction, making it the fourth most expensive project in ODOT history.

The two westbound lanes on the new bridge bypass the I-77 interchange for drivers wanting to continue along I-480.

In the eastbound direction, the two lanes on the new bridge bypass the Transportation Boulevard exit.

The original Valley View Bridges were built in the late 1970s and needed a driving surface replacement.

A pandemic did not slow the contractor or ODOT on the project, with the new bridge opened ahead of schedule.

According to ODOT, 79,000 cubic yards of concrete and 18.5 million pounds of steel were used to build the center bridge.