New and widened roads set to reopen near Intel plant in New Albany
NEW ALBANY, Ohio (WCMH) — One of the roads closest to Intel‘s $20 billion campus is set to reopen Friday, and bringing changes with it.
Clover Valley Road from Mink Street to Green Chapel Road, located in New Albany’s Silicon Heartland, has been closed since June as construction crews got to work. The road has been expanded from a two-lane rural road to three, wider lanes.
New Albany Chief Communications and Marketing Officer Josh Poland said the changes will help accommodate the proposed economic growth around Intel’s semiconductor fabrication plant.
“This upgrade will improve traffic flow associated with Intel and other growth we are experiencing in the New Albany International Business Park,” Poland said. “There are portions of Clover Valley Road that are new roads entirely, serving to enhance the connectivity within the region. The opening of this roadway creates a direct and improved route for construction traffic through this rapidly growing area.”
Clover Valley Road’s intersection with Jug Street is also scheduled to open. The Jug Street-Mink Street intersection reopened on Nov. 15, restoring access to the east and west legs of Jug Street from Mink Street.
Clover Valley Road north of Green Chapel Road will remain inaccessible until spring.
In addition to work on Clover Valley Road, Ohio Department of Transportation crews began long-term construction on State Route 161 in July. An additional lane is being built in each direction, along with wider bridges, from its intersection with Interstate 270 to its intersection with U.S. 62. The new lanes are expected to be ready by November, with the entire project set to be finished in August 2025.
Ohio has invested $90 million in transportation improvements in the area surrounding New Albany’s International Business Park. Most of these funds will go toward projects on local roads in Delaware, Franklin, and Licking counties. This is expected to ensure local roads have the capacity to handle the anticipated rapid growth.
Intel announced its project to build a “mega-site” of semiconductor fabrication plants in central Ohio in January 2022. The initial unveiling of the project promised to bring at least 10,000 direct jobs and thousands more indirectly. On the one-year anniversary of the plant’s announcement, Intel revealed that the site will be called Ohio One.
The Ohio One project was made possible with the CHIPS Act. This legislation was signed into law by President Joe Biden in August 2022. Intel, which is set to receive incentive funding from this law, had postponed its groundbreaking ceremony until it knew the legislation would pass.
Intel’s $200 million neighbor Phamavite is also near Clover Valley Road construction. This Nature Made and MegaFood brand product company broke ground on their central Ohio location in April. The new location will be at 13312 Jug Street Road, a two-minute drive from the Intel site.
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