Pothole repairs snarl I-71 for hours

Portions of southbound Interstate 71 on the South Side were closed for most of the day and night on Friday as road crews worked to fix a potholepocked stretch of highway.

The Ohio Department of Transportation twice pushed back the reopening of highway lanes as crews tried to finish resurfacing to fix craters that cracked open as temperatures swung from frigid to unseasonably warm earlier this week.

ODOT closed the right lane of I-71 between Interstate 270 and Stringtown Road about noon Friday and planned to wrap up work by 4 p.m. before commuters started clogging the highway. But that work took longer than expected, and ODOT's contractors stayed through the evening rush to finish that lane.

Crews then shifted to working on the far left lane, which remained closed until about 10 p.m.

That stretch of I-71 south was so bad that ODOT opted to mill the surface of the lanes and repave the road rather than fill all the large potholes.

High temperatures reached the 60s on Thursday and then dropped into the 30s on Friday — the ideal recipe for major potholes, Burton said. This list is compiled from voluntary submissions by parents to hospitals. Crystal/ boy, Feb. 6 Jessica and Allen: boy, Feb. 9 Brooke/ Nick: boy, Feb. 10 Jeffrey: Mercedes/ Deshawn: boy, Feb. 16 Shannon and David: girl, Feb. 14 Jesica and Ryan: girl, Feb. 15 Mariella/ boy, Feb. 15 Shunteena/ Lamar: girl, Feb. 14 Shereana and Huston: girl, Feb. 15 Virginia and Jeremy: boy, Feb. 15 Feb. 6 Anthony: Feb. 10 Rebecca/ two boys, Feb. 10 Christy/ Jamie: girl, Feb. 10 Tyfeni and Ebaen: boy, Feb. 9 Benjamin: Kimberly/ Justin: boy, Feb. 10 Katlyn and Gary: girl, Feb. 9 welcome. Blood drives are open today at:

4820 Sawmill Road, 7:15 a.m.-2:30 p.m. 4770 Hoover Road, Grove City, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.