East Taggart Street in East Palestine, Ohio to reopen to drivers

EAST PALESTINE, Ohio (WKBN) — After months of work, East Taggart Street reopened to all-day traffic on Monday.

Beginning Monday, East Taggart Street is open to traffic in both directions all day. This comes as part of a phased reopening plan that began at the end of September, when the street opened to overnight traffic only.

This reopening is possible because major excavation and soil activities are nearing completion, marking substantial progress on remediation work in the area, according to Norfolk Southern. The road was closed for cleanup from the East Palestine train derailment.

Drivers should expect periodic traffic stoppages – around 15 minutes or more – during
daytime working hours to allow for truck traffic to enter or leave the cleanup site.

The final phase of the project is anticipated to begin at the end of the year where the road will remain open to traffic at all hours with only intermittent traffic stoppages.

Although a specific date is not mentioned, Norfolk Southern says the project is anticipated to continue through the first quarter of 2024 before reaching completion.