ODOT is looking at changing Route 23 north of Columbus, and many residents aren't happy
DELAWARE — People in northern Delaware County are worried that changes to Route 23 could cost them farmland and their rural way of life.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is studying options for clearing congestion on Rt. 23 and creating a more direct route between Columbus and Toledo. Right now, they are looking at six options, including turning the highway into a freeway.
On Wednesday, around 400 people showed up at the Delaware County Fairgrounds to weigh in on the project for the second of four scheduled public meetings.
Many residents said they have watched construction projects in central Ohio expand beyond Columbus into outlying rural areas and take over farmland before.
"We've seen this," said Mark Hope, a grain farmer whose family has several hundred acres of land across the county. "Eminent domain is no good."
Some Delaware County residents oppose Rt. 23 upgrade
Residents created a website, No Route 23 Connect at nohwy.com, to implore people to oppose a freeway through rural Delaware County.
Rt. 23, which runs in Ohio from Portsmouth to Sylvania, is especially congested from Interstate 270 to Waldo in Marion County. As Columbus grows, transportation officials worry that will only get worse. There are 38 traffic lights between Waldo and I-270 alone, and anywhere from 30,000 to 80,000 vehicles drive through Rt. 23 daily.
ODOT began studying the options for clearing congestion last spring.
Breanna Badanes, ODOT's spokesperson for central Ohio, said the study, Route 23 Connect, is still in preliminary planning stages. So far there are six renovation options the department is considering in collaboration with the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments.
"It will take several years before we get close to construction," she said. "But everyone agrees something needs to be done about traffic on 23."
What are options to fix Route 23 congestion?
Two of those concepts would connect Rt. 23 to U.S. Route 33, Interstate 270 and/or U.S. Route 42 on the western side of Delaware County. Three concepts would connect Rt. 23 to I-71, I-270 and/or U.S. Route 36/State Route 37 on the eastern side of the county.
A sixth option would upgrade the existing Rt. 23 into a freeway by adding through lanes and replacing interchanges.
Thom Slack, an ODOT manager for the Route 23 Connect project, explained that the department will use a variety of factors to determine which concept deserves further study.
Those factors include anything from potential travel time, residential displacement, endangered species and estimated costs.
Fears over rural Delaware County's future
More than two dozen residents spoke up during the public comment portion of the meeting.
Molly Queen read from a prepared statement during her comment, as she furiously raised concerns about the impact any of the proposed concepts would have on Delaware County's environment.
"We cannot destroy what's left of our natural habitat," she said. "This poses a level of environmental disregard that's shameful."
Other farmers defended their way of life.
"This work is sunup to sundown, I'm not sure if you know that," one woman said to the project managers. "We can rebuild our homes, but we can't get our farmland back."
Susan Barr stepped up to the microphone to pose a question to the crowd assembled.
"How many of you feel this would impact your property?" she asked, gesturing to ODOT's presentation up front.
Hundreds of hands shot up.
"We have in no way figured this out yet," Slack said Wednesday. "That's why we're here tonight to get more feedback."
"We do not seek to come in and break up every farm," he added.
The Route 23 project managers reiterated throughout the meeting that their efforts will improve the overall safety of the region, reduce congestion and align with the community's goals.
"This is the moment, if we all decide to grab it," Chris Hermann said, "to make real change."
Hermann, an urban planner and public engagement manager on ODOT's team, explained that by 2040, Delaware County is expected to add more than 85,000 new residents and Columbus is projected to add a million.
"In 20 years, it's going to be much worse," he added.
The department wants to hear from everyone impacted, so they can factor in all feedback before deciding which concept to further study and evaluate.
People have until Feb. 28 to issue a public comment to the ODOT:
By email at d06.pio@dot.ohio.gov
By telephone at 740-833-8268
Online at transportation.ohio.gov/23connect
The next meeting will be a virtual public comment session at 12 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 27, which anyone can register for at publicinput.com/23connect.
Céilí Doyle is a Report for America corps member and covers rural issues in Ohio for The Dispatch. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep her writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation at https://bit.ly/3fNsGaZ.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware County rural residents fear US 23 upgrade congestion fix
