Ironton Police Department prepares to mitigate traffic on Memorial Day

IRONTON, Ohio (WSAZ) - Tens of thousands of people will descend upon Ironton on the morning of Memorial Day. The 155th annual Ironton-Lawrence County Memorial Day Parade is set to begin at 10 a.m., culminating a week’s worth of festivities to honor those who have died while serving in the military.

“Memorial Day weekend is, hands down, the best weekend in Ironton,” said Mayor Sam Cramblit. “For me, it’s hectic and for everyone at the city, there is a lot of preparation that goes into it.”

This year, the Ironton Police Department is tasked with mitigating traffic flow along Park Avenue. Two exits off of U.S. Route 52 near State Route 93 and Park Avenue are closed due to ongoing construction.

“The biggest snafu is the construction of the roundabout. For that reason, we are asking people to try to avoid Park Avenue if at all possible,” said Ironton Chief of Police Dan Johnson.

He is encouraging people who plan to attend the parade to use the Ironton exits at routes 650 and 141 to get into the city. Once the first division of the parade reaches the end of the parade route at 6th Street and Park Avenue, Ironton Police officers will be shutting down access to Park Avenue from U.S. Route 52 and state Route 93.

“You may have to walk a few extra blocks and park your cars outside the parade route. Go either direction besides Park Avenue if you can,” said Chief Johnson.

It will be just a minor obstacle for folks who want to take part in Ironton’s busiest event of the year.

“Luckily, we’ve gotten ahead of it, and I think we have a great plan in place. IPD will be on site taking care of traffic control,” said Mayor Cramblit.

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