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I-70/71 Columbus Crossroads

Started by vtk, September 15, 2011, 04:33:18 PM

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Hot Rod Hootenanny

Lets see how far west ODOT gets on the I-70/71 rebuild before the next C-bus roadmeet (some point in 2023)
https://www.columbusunderground.com/i-70-71-split-project-moving-forward-front-street-bridge-to-be-replaced-bw1
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above


vtk

Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Update on 70/71 in today's Dispatch
https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2021/10/18/70-westbound-go-one-two-lanes-heading-into-downtown/5987978001/
(But since it is paywalled for most of you here...)
Drivers navigating their way through the seemingly never-ending work on the Interstates 70/71 project Downtown will see some changes soon that will continue through the beginning of 2022.

But some other work the Ohio Department of Transportation planned might not happen.

"The challenge with funding moving forward is the large amount of work to be done," ODOT spokeswoman Breanna Badanes said.

What will happen:

- I-70 westbound will go from one to two lanes between Miller Avenue and I-71 approaching Downtown in November, presumably clearing up traffic snarls that have frustrated drivers heading through the interchange.

- The shifting of the I-71 northbound lanes to the right starting at the East Broad Street interchange will happen in November.

- The eastbound I-70 ramp to Front Street will close permanently in spring 2022.

- The eastbound I-70 ramp to Route 315 north will close permanently in spring 2022.

- The southbound ramp from East Broad Street to I-71 southbound reopens in summer 2022.

In addition, Fulton Street recently has been changed to one way eastbound between South High Street and South Grant Avenue before drivers can take the new ramp to I-70 east. And the ramp from northbound I-71 to East Broad Street has been opened since August.

All are part of the project, expected to cost $1.4 billion, that began in 2010 and that the Ohio Department of Transportation now expects to finish in 2026 for the phases that have been funded.

Crews continue to rebuild the Broad Street bridge over I-71. The southern half of the bridge has been completed, and crews are expected to complete the northern half by summer 2022.

ODOT still plans to rebuild Lester Drive along the west side of I-71 and Elijah Pierce Drive along the east side of I-71 – both sections between Long and Broad streets – in summer 2022 as well. Lester is to be an access road from and to southbound I-71. Parsons Avenue and Elijah Pierce Drive are to be the same for northbound I-71.

ODOT doesn't have the money to build the Lester Drive access road south of Broad to East Main Street, to rebuild the Oak and Town street bridges over I-71, or to reconstruct the I-71/East Main Street interchange and the Main Street bridge over I-71, Badanes said.

The total cost for all of that is $162 million.

While the $1.4 billion cost for the Interstates 70/71 project is spread over many years, Badanes put that expenditure in context: The state's total annual construction spending is $1.92 billion.

Josh Lapp of Transit Columbus, an advocacy group, said he has been following the construction work closely.

"Fundamentally, I'd much rather see that amount of money going to transit and other infrastructure that would have more impact on the long-term trajectory of our city," Lapp said.

"But some of the improvements they are making are a benefit," he said.

Lapps said that includes the funded "caps" for the South High Street and South 3rd Street bridges over I-70/I-71, and Livingston Avenue being converted to a two-way street west of Mohawk Street. Money is also in place for replacing the South Front Street and South 4th Street bridges

All of that will help pedestrians and bicyclists, Lapp said.

"You can't walk across 4th Street," he said.  "This will really help connect German Village and Downtown."

Plans also call for an I-70 eastbound ramp to Fulton Street Downtown that would replace the Front Street exit being shut permanently.
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

vtk

Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

cl94

Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on October 18, 2021, 11:06:13 PM
- The eastbound I-70 ramp to Route 315 north will close permanently in spring 2022.

So, will this ramp be replaced as part of the future rebuild of the west interchange or will drivers be expected to use 670? I know the feds frown on partial interchanges, but this ramp is really only useful for drivers heading to a small part of Franklinton.
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vtk

Huh, I never noticed those in person... :confused:
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

GCrites

The oft-wily situation of trying to keep up with the routing of numbered routes in Ohio urban centers.

SkyPesos

Quote from: GCrites80s on October 19, 2021, 10:14:04 PM
The oft-wily situation of trying to keep up with the routing of numbered routes in Ohio urban centers.
And then you look at downtown Louisville, which makes Ohio's cities numbered routes look neatly signed and laid out in downtown.

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: cl94 on October 19, 2021, 11:16:04 AM
Quote from: Hot Rod Hootenanny on October 18, 2021, 11:06:13 PM
- The eastbound I-70 ramp to Route 315 north will close permanently in spring 2022.

So, will this ramp be replaced as part of the future rebuild of the west interchange or will drivers be expected to use 670? I know the feds frown on partial interchanges, but this ramp is really only useful for drivers heading to a small part of Franklinton.

With Mt. Carmel hospital, in Franklinton, now just a shell of its former self (majority of operations have now been moved to a new campus, east of Grove City), there is no *need* for that ramp from I-70 EB to Oh 315 NB.
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

GCrites

If there's still an ER they have to have concessions for it.

6a

Quote from: GCrites80s on October 20, 2021, 05:36:35 PM
If there's still an ER they have to have concessions for it.
There's nothing left of the hospital. Originally, there was a plan to keep this movement but people complained about the historic (read: decrepit) school at the NW section of the interchange being demolished. I assume ODOT figured I-670 to SR 315 was a good enough alternative.


Hot Rod Hootenanny

So...ODOT & Gov. Mike DeWine decided to hold a press conference yesterday concerning the phase of I-70/71 rebuild in Columbus.
From today's Dispatch...

Quote
I-70-I-71 road projects to look out for in Downtown Columbus soon
Patrick Cooley
The Columbus Dispatch

Gov. Mike DeWine joined representatives of the Ohio Department of Transportation and the city of Columbus to announce the project from Dodge Park in Franklinton Wednesday afternoon. He spoke from a lectern at the edge of an observation area overlooking the stretch of Interstate 70 that spans the Scioto River.

The work was already underway Wednesday afternoon as cleared dirt on the east banks of the Scioto River in preparation for new exit and entrance ramps.

Drivers from all over the nation traverse Columbus through interstates 70 and 71, which converge Downtown, DeWine told reporters and local officials at Wednesday's press conference.


"With two major interstates and with a huge traffic flow, (the project) impacts the entire country, or at least a large part of it,"  he said.

What changes are coming next for I-70 and I-71 in Downtown Columbus?
Building a ramp from the eastbound lanes of I-70 to Fulton Street to replace the Front Street exit.
Building a ramp from Mound Street to the southbound lanes of I-71.
Rebuilding the ramp from Mound Street to the westbound lanes of I-70, an endeavor that will include a new bridge over Short Street.
Rebuilding the Front Street bridge that spans I-70.
Making Front Street two-way traffic between Livingston Avenue and Mound Street, and expanding sidewalks and bike lanes.
Exit from the eastbound lanes of I-70 to Route 315 will close permanently on March 18.
Exit from the eastbound lanes of I-70 to Front Street will close in May.
Exit from the eastbound lanes of I-70 to Livingston Avenue will close in 2024.

Changes are planned for Interstates 70/71 at Fulton, Mound and Front streets.
Construction of the interstates in the 1960s contributed to the growth of Greater Columbus, which has seen its population double since I-70 and I-71 rose over the Scioto River and the neighborhoods in the middle of the city, DeWine said. But as use of the interstate highways grew, so did crashes.

The new ramps should give drivers a safer way to merge onto and leave the highways, officials said at Wednesday's conference.

Changes are planned for Interstates 70/71 in Downtown Columbus.
The work is part of an ongoing campaign to upgrade roads and bridges throughout Ohio at a cost of around $900 million. The downtown work will cost roughly $280 million.

The work is projected to take three and a half years.

This section of I-70 that runs through Downtown Columbus sees around 900 crashes a year, according to ODOT figures.

Changes are planned for Interstates 70/71 in Downtown Columbus.
"A lot of us have driven white-knuckled through the Columbus Crossroads,"  said William Murdock, executive director of the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. "This will make you feel safer."

pcooley@dispatch.com
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

vtk

Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

GCrites

When was "Pax Split", anyway? The time when it was actually settled for a little while and not a mess somehow. 1975-1980?

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: GCrites80s on March 10, 2022, 10:00:44 PM
When was "Pax Split", anyway? The time when it was actually settled for a little while and not a mess somehow. 1975-1980?

Pax Split?
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

GCrites


Hot Rod Hootenanny

Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

GCrites

That's not the Split era though, that's just Mound-Sandusky and later I-71 by itself.

vtk

I'd say Pax Split began when Mound—Sandusky v2 was completed, and ended in the late 90s when ODOT was beginning to feel the need to make improvements.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

GCrites

I remember I moved away in 1999 and by the time I moved back to town in 2005 the Split was much worse traffic- and crash-wise

carbaugh2

#172
It appears Phase 3B of the project is in its closing stages. For those who have lost track (myself included), this portion of the project covers 71 between the East split and the 670 interchange. Northbound 71 was closed over the weekend, and I believe the southbound lanes will be closed over the next few nights. Here are some highlights of what I saw this morning.

The merge coming out of the split turns into 4 lanes, with a dedicated lane for the Broad St exit.
The line of BGSs for the Broad St exit and 670 advance warning shows the contrast between Clearview and standard fonts. It’s a lot easier to understand the distaste for Clearview in a side by side comparison.
There are 2 through lanes, an option lane, and an exit lane for 670.
The awkward Right Lane Ends sign that was covered has not been removed. The area is still missing an advance sign for the 11th Ave exit.

I’m thankful that my commute is early enough that I don’t have to worry about the weave from those coming from the 70 eastbound lanes to get on 670. This highlights the need to complete the redo on the East Split.

vtk

On Wednesday I was able to get some drone footage of the West Split.

Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

GCrites




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