It’s official: ‘Fix’ is in: Traffic work done early
After four years of orange barrels, changing traffic patterns and congestion, the main projects of the “mega fix” at Interstate 270 and Route 23 on the Far North Side will be done by Saturday, ahead of the busy Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
The final ramps to open will be from southbound Route 23 to westbound Interstate 270, and from northbound Route 23 to westbound I-270 and Route 315, said Chuck Kiner, the Ohio Department of Transportation engineer overseeing the project. The ramps are to open at 8 a.m. Saturday, weather permitting.
The new ramp and bridge to I-270 west goes over traffic exiting at Route 315. That untangles roads that contributed to traffic congestion and crashes.
The price tag for the four years of work is $148 million, which is $6 million more than the original estimate of $142 million.
Motorists knew that something had to be done to improve the outdated interchange. About 180,000 vehicles now pass through it on the Outerbelt each day, and Route 23 handles 90,000 vehicles daily.
Exploding growth in southern Delaware County created traffic backups from I-270 east to Route 23 north. Traffic volumes had increased by more than 20 percent since 2001.
“The interchange was not designed for that amount of traffic,” Kiner said.
ODOT had identified the section of I-270 between Route 315 and I-71 as the fourth-most-congested and high-crash area in the state.
Work to improve the interchange began in 2013. One of the biggest changes was construction of “the trench” — two lanes of northbound Route 23 that run beneath some cross streets just north of Worthington to speed traffic to Delaware County.
To build the trench, crews ended up removing 250,000 cubic yards of shale and earth.
“We would dig all day and truck all night,” Kiner said.
In an email, Worthington City Manager Matt Greeson wrote that the construction has been a challenge to drivers and businesses along the corridor. “It has taken patience and understanding that the completion of the North Side Fix is bringing important safety upgrades and improved access to our northern gateway,” Greeson wrote.
ODOT still needs to finish paving I-270 between Routes 315 and 23, plus part of Route 315 near I-270. A proposed “flyover” ramp from northbound Route 315 to westbound I-270 does not have funding to go ahead, Kiner said.
Having all lanes in the project open for the Thanksgiving weekend will be a huge help. This year is expected to be the busiest for travel since 2005, with more than 2.1 million Ohioans expected to travel at least 50 miles from home between Wednesday and Nov. 26, according to the AAA Ohio Auto Club. Nationally, close to 51 million are expected to make that trip, a 35 percent jump from 2008, thanks to a stronger economy.
Rising gas prices apparently aren’t making a dent in many travel plans. In Ohio, the average price per gallon is $2.61, up from $2.04 in 2016 and $1.86 in 2015.
Other road projects that are finished include the I-270/Route 33 interchange in Dublin. Travelers heading south on I-71 toward Cincinnati will be enduring a 5-mile construction zone between Greenlawn Avenue and Stringtown Road. Three lanes of traffic will be maintained but the speed limit is 55 mph, ODOT spokeswoman Nancy Burton said.