Powell addresses backups caused by Route 315 work
When state work crews shut down Route 315 in both directions this month to stabilize crumbling and eroding slopes along the roadway, they inadvertently caused massive gridlock and headaches for the city of Powell.
Powell City Council has taken emergency steps to try to quell numerous resident complaints and keep traffic moving. On Wednesday, police directed traffic from 4 to 7 p.m. at the main intersections on Olentangy Street at Liberty Street and Bennett Parkway. Police will continue to do that each weekday during those hours until at least August. Left turns are prohibited at the Olentangy and Liberty intersection during that time period. Signs are being installed to guide people around the area.
“The feedback is very negative and it is coming in at a high rate of frequency,” Powell Mayor Brian Lorenz said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Some people have complained about two-mile trips taking 20 minutes or longer. Others worry that people will avoid area businesses.
“Visitors are not going to want to stop at a store if they’re sitting in traffic all day,” said Tanya McCarthy, executive director of the Greater Powell Area Chamber of Commerce.
The Ohio Department of Transportation began the slope stabilization work June 12 south of Route 750 along scenic, and busy, Route 315 — one of the main north-south connectors between Franklin and Delaware counties.
ODOT’s official detour is for northbound traffic to take Route 23 to eastbound Route 750 and northbound 315. But many motorists, and large trucks, are instead cutting across Jewett Road to Liberty Road and through the center of Powell, which has had historically bad traffic.
Newly opened Murphy Parkway, a bypass for those going west of the city toward the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, is a solution that many are not using, said Megan Canavan, city spokeswoman.
“A lot of the GPS devices don’t pick it up yet,” she said. Others are uncertain about where it takes them. Prominent signs will direct westbound traffic there, she said. And eastbound signs at Bennett Parkway will do the same.
Drone footage taken by Powell shows heavy backups, but Murphy and Bennett parkways moving freely.
“This is an ODOT screwup,” said Vince Margello, who owns several downtown properties. “They’re not redirecting traffic properly.”
An ODOT spokeswoman said there is no single best time for such work.
“What we struggle with is when school is in session, the Christmas shopping season ... there is always something year-round that is significant,” Nancy Burton said Wednesday.
ODOT is required to move traffic to an official, “postedsign” detour on another state route, even though other routes, such as Sawmill Road, are also viable.
“Those (state routes) are the roads that ODOT pays for and takes care of,” Burton said. “If we sent motorists to Sawmill, that causes undue wear and tear on (a Columbus) road, and that’s not being a good partner.”
Powell Police Chief Gary Vest said the changes “will be inconvenient on practically everybody, but it won’t be disastrous.” Dangers arise when emergency vehicles can’t navigate choked streets. “We’d be sitting there like we’re waiting on a train,” he said.
Long term, Vest said, “We’ll adapt to this and try to work through it.”