ODOT approves $61M in road projects in Franklin, Licking, Fairfield counties for 2024
The state's Transportation Review Advisory Council's draft list of road projects includes $61.1 million in projects across central Ohio.
Among the seven projects in Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin and/or Licking counties is $5 million each in preliminary engineering for widening both Ohio 161/37, from U.S. 62 in Franklin County to Ohio 37 near Granville, as well as Interstate 70, from Palmer Road to Ohio 158, in Licking County.
The Ohio 161 project, which does not yet have dedicated construction funding, would add a third lane in each direction to the state route, expected to carry considerably more traffic when Intel begins production at its $20 billion computer chip manufacturing facility south of Johnstown in 2025.
The 2024 draft list of projects, released Wednesday, will receive funding through the Ohio Department of Transportation's Major New Capacity Program. It includes $127.3 million in new funding commitments for 18 projects over the next four years. There were 28 applications submitted.
The public can comment on the draft list by emailing trac@dot.ohio.gov until Feb. 23. TRAC will vote on the final list at its Feb. 28 meeting.
Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said the TRAC funding is good news for Licking County, which was not included in the initial Ohio 161 widening plans revealed following the Intel announcement.
Soon after the Intel announcement, ODOT planned improvements to Ohio 270 and Ohio 161 to the west, in Franklin County.
"That's something that's been talked about quite a bit," Bubb said of the Ohio 161 widening plans. "That's the first thing that came up. Why aren't we taking this all the way to Granville. This is the first step to adding a third lane east and west."
Bubb said widening the highway all the way to Ohio 37 will also encourage eastbound Intel traffic to continue into Newark, taking the Thornwood Crossing exit onto Thornwood Drive, then to Ohio 79 south to connect with Interstate 70 eastbound.
"This connects Intel and New Albany to Thornwood Crossing to a greater extent," Bubb said. "That now is the entree to the Thornwood corridor going south. I think it makes complete sense. A logical step in the right direction."
Bill Lozier, the Licking County Transportation Improvement District projects director, said the preliminary engineering funds are a good start but do not guarantee the widening will extend to Ohio 37.
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission just completed a travel demand model, which will be used to determine how far Ohio 161 needs to be widened, Lozier said.
"The travel demand model is the building block to start the study," Lozier said. "They will use the travel demand model to determine how many lanes and how far east. We try to design for at least 20 years into the future."
Lozier said another ODOT study looks at north-south routes such as Ohio 37 and Ohio 310 to take Intel traffic from Ohio 161 to Interstate 70.
The Ohio 161-Mink Street interchange will need to be reconstructed, Lozier said, to make room for the planned five-lane Mink Street underneath the state route.
A widened and relocated Ohio 161/37 opened from Franklin County to Granville in 2010, four years after construction began and seven years after ODOT approved construction funds for the project.
Previously, Licking County residents traveled on a one-lane road in each direction, making travel dangerous and slowing traffic to a crawl at rush hours.
The TRAC draft project list also includes $5 million for preliminary engineering in 2025 for the widening of Interstate 70 from four to six lanes between Palmer Road in the southwestern corner of the county and Ohio 158 in Kirkersville.
Additional funding was also approved for various interchange and roadway enhancements on I-70 around the Ohio 256 interchange in Fairfield and Licking counties. The funds include $5.5 million for preliminary engineering and $1.5 million for design.
The TRAC was established by Ohio Revised Code in 1997 to help ODOT develop and modify a project selection process, which approves funding for the development and construction of the Major New Capacity Program.
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Ohio Transportation Review Advisory Council 2024 draft project list
Following are the central Ohio projects approved for funding on the 2024 draft list:
Tier 1 new construction funding
Franklin County: COTA West Broad Street corridor. Implement bus rapid transit along 9-mile corridor of U.S. 40 from downtown Columbus to Prairie Township, $15 million.
Tier II preliminary engineering
Franklin/Licking counties: Ohio 161. Widen the highway from four to six lanes between U.S. 62 and Ohio 37, $5 million.
Licking County: Intestate 70. Widen from four to six lanes between Palmer Road and Ohio 158, $5 million.
Tier I additional construction funding
Delaware County: Interstate 71 at Sunbury Parkway. New service interchange south of U.S. 36/Ohio 37, $5,000.
Franklin County: Interstate 270 at Interstate 71 (north outerbelt). Ramp widening from I-270 east to I-71 north, $22.5 million.
Tier II additional development funding
Fairfield/Licking counties: Interstate 70 at Ohio 256. Various interchange and roadway enhancements, $5.5 million for preliminary engineering and $1.5 million for design.
Franklin County: Alum Creek Drive. Widen from four to six lanes between Groveport Road and Ohio 317.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: ODOT approves 2024 draft list with $61M for central Ohio road projects
