MEIGS COUNTY — The new rest areas being constructed along U.S. 33 in Meigs County are nearly complete according to officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 10.

ODOT District 10 Public Information Officer Brenna Slavens said earlier this week that the rest areas should be open in the coming weeks.

“We are waiting to open them until after the water line upgrade project is completed,” said Slavens, estimating two to three weeks left on that project.

The official groundbreaking was held in late July, with work on the treatment plants constructed behind each rest area beginning soon after.

The rest areas closed in early September, with the old buildings being torn down soon after.

But work on modernizing the facilities began long before that time.

During the ground breaking ceremony, several officials spoke about the determination, hard work, and cooperation put forth by officials within the county and at the state level over the past several years.

Plans to modernize the rest area were announced by ODOT in February of this year.

The Meigs County rest areas were moved to the current locations in 1961, according to ODOT, after being located near Middleport beginning in 1938. Since 1961, the rest area has been updated once — in 1987.

The new facility will have running water and flush toilets, something that the current facility does not have.

At the groundbreaking, ODOT District 10 Deputy Director Steve Williams said the facilities would be new while not taking away from the rustic look of the area. He added that the facility will look like it belongs in the wooded area it will be located in.

The project was awarded to D.V. Weber Construction, a local Meigs County contractor, in the amount of $444,799.

The rest area on Ohio 7 North in Kanauga was renovated as part of the 2010-11 plan by ODOT. According to the ODOT website, the rest area remains closed.

Slavens estimated that the rest areas on Ohio 7 may open by the first of the year.