YOUNGSTOWN — Some of the 48,108 vehicles traveling Interstate 680 at Mahoning Avenue each day on average may be detoured for some time.

The Ohio Department of Transportation has worked since Monday afternoon to stabilize a bridge pillar for the Mahoning Avenue Bridge above I-680. The bridge has a traffic flow of 9,193 vehicles daily.

The pillar was damaged in a 1:40 p.m. Monday crash, ODOT spokesman Ray Marsch said Tuesday.

The crash involved a semitractor-trailer hauling steel and a car that became wedged beneath the truck’s trailer near the Glenwood Avenue exit.

When the pillar is sufficiently stabilized, one lane in each direction of I-680 will reopen to traffic. But until then, it is closed from U.S. Route 62 to the 711 Connector. The Mahoning Avenue Bridge also remains closed, Marsch said. ODOT is responsible for the bridge and the interstate.

Marsch said he cannot estimate how long it will be until the temporary repairs to the bridge column are finished.

Engineers also are working on a long-term fix to the damaged pillar, but Marsch said he does not know yet when that plan will be finalized, when the Mahoning Avenue Bridge will reopen or when the work on the bridge will begin or be completed.

ODOT crews are trimming trees and fixing potholes to take advantage of the opportunity to work there while it is closed to traffic.

According to ODOT, the detours are as follows:

Northbound: I-680 to state Route 62 / 7, U.S. Route 422, state Route 193, I-680.

Southbound: I-680 to 711, 422, 193, 62 / 7, I-680.

news@tribtoday.com