I-270 Columbus miscellany

[vtk]

Lots of stuff going on on the Outerbelt. Some of it has its own threads; some does not.

Here's a minor thing: today I noticed, on the south side, the EB ramp to 23 now has an option lane. Since the freeway widening, it had been a single dropped lane that becomes two as it exits.  Striping now properly warns of the dropped lane too, though the signage is still the afterthought-patch job...

[GCrites]

People still haven't gotten used to those new lanes down there I can tell. They make a lot of mistakes.

[exit322]

People still haven't gotten used to those new lanes down there I can tell. They make a lot of mistakes.

Or...it's Columbus, and drivers from therein.   That's probably more likely the reasoning.

[Tom958]

Lots of stuff going on on the Outerbelt. Some of it has its own threads; some does not.

Here's a minor thing: today I noticed, on the south side, the EB ramp to 23 now has an option lane. Since the freeway widening, it had been a single dropped lane that becomes two as it exits.  Striping now properly warns of the dropped lane too, though the signage is still the afterthought-patch job...

How's it signed? Per the 2009 MUTCD, the overheads for either configuration would be exactly the same. 

[vtk]

Lots of stuff going on on the Outerbelt. Some of it has its own threads; some does not.

Here's a minor thing: today I noticed, on the south side, the EB ramp to 23 now has an option lane. Since the freeway widening, it had been a single dropped lane that becomes two as it exits.  Striping now properly warns of the dropped lane too, though the signage is still the afterthought-patch job...

How's it signed? Per the 2009 MUTCD, the overheads for either configuration would be exactly the same. 

It's a carbon copy of the old sign from before there was a lane drop at all, with an orange patch at the bottom that says "right lane only", if memory serves.  When they finally get around to permanently correcting that sign, MUTCD'09 be damned, ODOT's current observed practice would have a white on green arrow for the option lane.  I haven't looked at OMUTCD in several years, so I have no idea if it acknowledges the new federal manual yet.

[6a]

Lots of stuff going on on the Outerbelt. Some of it has its own threads; some does not.

Here's a minor thing: today I noticed, on the south side, the EB ramp to 23 now has an option lane. Since the freeway widening, it had been a single dropped lane that becomes two as it exits.  Striping now properly warns of the dropped lane too, though the signage is still the afterthought-patch job...

How's it signed? Per the 2009 MUTCD, the overheads for either configuration would be exactly the same. 

[vtk]

Work is wrapping up at the Alum Creek Drive interchange, and I note that the old, damaged sign for the NB to WB loop ramp has not been replaced. That's the one where a big piece of retrofitted reflective green sheeting fell off, revealing the original green background and shadows of the button copy elements in their original layout, including a smaller I-270 shield and a Grove City legend that wasn't so close to the bottom of the sign.

Speaking of old signs surviving despite construction, the old BGSs on the eastbound C/D ramp at US 23 on the south side are still up, providing a living comparison between the '61 spec and '70 spec US shields.

[busman_49]

Work is wrapping up at the Alum Creek Drive interchange, and I note that the old, damaged sign for the NB to WB loop ramp has not been replaced. That's the one where a big piece of retrofitted reflective green sheeting fell off, revealing the original green background and shadows of the button copy elements in their original layout, including a smaller I-270 shield and a Grove City legend that wasn't so close to the bottom of the sign.

Speaking of old signs surviving despite construction, the old BGSs on the eastbound C/D ramp at US 23 on the south side are still up, providing a living comparison between the '61 spec and '70 spec US shields.

Here's a photo of the Grove City sign from 2012:
P1120951 by Ryan busman_49, on Flickr

[vtk]

So it seems like all the new signs for I-270 on other roads are completely omitting destination legends.  Maybe ODOT is thinking the Outerbelt is getting so congested, through traffic might as well at least consider going downtown?

[GCrites]

Yep no control cities on the new signs it seems. Maybe they'll replace that crappy Alum Creek sign. It was still there a few days ago.

[vtk]

ODOT D6 tweeted this morning that I-270 will be widened from I-70 (west side) to US 33 (NW side) by adding a fourth through-lane in the median, in a project starting Spring 2017 and ending Fall 2018.  Apparently this includes reconstruction of the existing pavement, as well.  This project was moved up from a planned 2018 start, because "money is available".  Could that money have come from delaying the East Split reconfiguration project by a year, which was announced a few months ago?

[alecscradle]

I don't think that they've delayed the Far East Freeway from the 270 Widening.  Last I checked Construction for that was still scheduled to begin in 2019.  I think the most likely scenario for them moving the 270 Widening up is that they got incentivized by either Hilliard or Dublin to start that project as soon as possible.

The Far East Project is a massive project anyways.  It looks like it will start once 270/33 and 270/315/23 is done.

[Buck87]

Here's a news video about the widening. In it an ODOT guy mentions building the new lanes first, and then shifting traffic to them while the old lanes are being rebuilt.

http://myfox28columbus.com/news/local/270-widening-project-near-hilliard-to-start-a-year-early

[vtk]

I don't think that they've delayed the Far East Freeway

I was referring to the I-70/I-71 East Split Interchange, the reconfiguration of which was, in fact, delayed by a year.

Honestly, these schedules keep shuffling around so much I can't keep track of what's supposed to start next year versus next decade.

[GCrites]

^It's the southern half of the East Innerbelt. Yes, the funding seems to come and go on these inside 270 projects at least as much as things do in Karma Chameleon. They can get away with it easier I suppose since the Innerbelt projects are design-build.