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I-70/71 Columbus Crossroads

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

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vtk

I-71 Northbound is closed for the weekend through the project area.  I believe when it reopens, traffic will be on the new alignment, though the pavement isn't initially as wide as the final design specifies.  Also, I think they're going to take the opportunity to erect beams for the I-670 EB auxilliary flyover (entrance from Cleveland Ave / exit to I-71 NB).  I managed to be among the last few dozen cars to drive the old alignment of I-71 NB tonight.

Here's a photo dump from this evening:


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


jwags

I'm going to be passing through this area next Sunday. I will be traveling e-w. would it be better to take the outerbelt?

vtk

Quote from: J-Wags on July 15, 2012, 01:04:36 AM
I'm going to be passing through this area next Sunday. I will be traveling e-w. would it be better to take the outerbelt?

Current impacts to I-70 are minor.  I-270, on the other hand, is undergoing reconstruction from exit 2 to exit 10, and still constricts to 2 lanes each way across the Scioto around milepost 1.  Then again, it shouldn't be too congested on a Sunday. Unless there's an accident, I-70 will be the quickest way through.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

vtk

Went downtown to take some photos again this evening.  Shot a bit more than this, but to avoid tedium I'm only posting the shots of NB I-71 and some of the I-670 interchange.


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

vtk

I-71 northbound, new alignment video:



Bonus: new 11th Ave bridge!
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: J-Wags on July 15, 2012, 01:04:36 AM
I'm going to be passing through this area next Sunday. I will be traveling e-w. would it be better to take the outerbelt?
I-70 should have no issues. This past weekend was actually the time that ramps from I-70E to 71 N were closed
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

jwags

What about coming back on Tuesday August 2nd?  Travelling E-W.

Hot Rod Hootenanny

Quote from: J-Wags on July 17, 2012, 12:54:44 AM
What about coming back on Tuesday August 2nd?  Travelling E-W.
Rush hour, take 270 south. Non-peak hours stay on I-70
Please, don't sue Alex & Andy over what I wrote above

6a

I have officially lost track of WTF is going on down there.  I assume all the earth moving that's happening on the south side of 70/71 near Children's Hospital has something to do with the project.  What that might be, I haven't a clue.  Prepping for a new bridge, maybe?

Also, I'll chime in re: traveling thru town.  I drive 270 in the west side construction zone every day - it's not too bad south of 70 unless there's a wreck.  Avoid 270 north of 70 if you can, though.

vtk

Quote from: 6a on July 17, 2012, 07:47:20 PM
I have officially lost track of WTF is going on down there.  I assume all the earth moving that's happening on the south side of 70/71 near Children's Hospital has something to do with the project.  What that might be, I haven't a clue.  Prepping for a new bridge, maybe?

They're building a retaining wall.  I presume it's preparation for the next project; the eventual footprint for the freeway will be a bit wider at that point.  As far as why they're doing that now and not in 2014 or 2020 or whenever, here's a guess: they needed to shift lanes over temporarily, and the current project already has the left lane closed, so they took the opportunity to do their work without further bottlenecking the South Innerbelt.  Other construction furniture between there and Broad St has been related to a "microtunnel" they're digging under the highway, for sewage or runoff drainage or something – possibly just overdue upgrades to the city's existing infrastructure, in yet another example of "while we're at it" syndrome.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

busman_49

Quote from: vtk on July 18, 2012, 01:25:49 PM
Quote from: 6a on July 17, 2012, 07:47:20 PM
I have officially lost track of WTF is going on down there.  I assume all the earth moving that's happening on the south side of 70/71 near Children's Hospital has something to do with the project.  What that might be, I haven't a clue.  Prepping for a new bridge, maybe?

They're building a retaining wall.  I presume it's preparation for the next project; the eventual footprint for the freeway will be a bit wider at that point.  As far as why they're doing that now and not in 2014 or 2020 or whenever, here's a guess: they needed to shift lanes over temporarily, and the current project already has the left lane closed, so they took the opportunity to do their work without further bottlenecking the South Innerbelt.  Other construction furniture between there and Broad St has been related to a "microtunnel" they're digging under the highway, for sewage or runoff drainage or something – possibly just overdue upgrades to the city's existing infrastructure, in yet another example of "while we're at it" syndrome.

I believe that the retaining wall going up now has something to do with Columbus City Schools' impending project to rebuild Africentric (which may end up being moved to another portion of the city after all)

vtk

Quote from: busman_49 on July 23, 2012, 07:38:54 PM
Quote from: vtk on July 18, 2012, 01:25:49 PM
Quote from: 6a on July 17, 2012, 07:47:20 PM
I have officially lost track of WTF is going on down there.  I assume all the earth moving that's happening on the south side of 70/71 near Children's Hospital has something to do with the project.  What that might be, I haven't a clue.  Prepping for a new bridge, maybe?

They're building a retaining wall.  I presume it's preparation for the next project; the eventual footprint for the freeway will be a bit wider at that point.  As far as why they're doing that now and not in 2014 or 2020 or whenever, here's a guess: they needed to shift lanes over temporarily, and the current project already has the left lane closed, so they took the opportunity to do their work without further bottlenecking the South Innerbelt.  Other construction furniture between there and Broad St has been related to a "microtunnel" they're digging under the highway, for sewage or runoff drainage or something – possibly just overdue upgrades to the city's existing infrastructure, in yet another example of "while we're at it" syndrome.

I believe that the retaining wall going up now has something to do with Columbus City Schools' impending project to rebuild Africentric (which may end up being moved to another portion of the city after all)

It's definitely related to the 70/71 work, and not just a school improvement project.  I say this because I remember from the public meetings, they talked a bit about how the highway would require a partial property take from the Africentric School, and some athletic fields would have to be rearranged.  CCS may have taken that as an impetus to rebuild or move the Africentric School altogether, but whatever they do with that property will surely leave room for the eventual highway widening.  The new retaining wall reflects the future highway footprint.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

busman_49

I didn't say it was just a school improvement project.  Sorry if I didn't explain myself better (I have a habit of doing that).  What I should have added is that I remember reading in the paper that ODOT was going to do that retaining wall now instead of on down the road because Columbus Schools wanted to rebuild Africentric in the relatively near future and having the retaining wall in place would have made it easier for the schools to do what they needed to do.  At least I think that was the general gist of it.

silverback1065

Why does i-670 do that weird split anyway?

vtk

Quote from: silverback1065 on July 30, 2012, 12:24:40 PM
Why does i-670 do that weird split anyway?

Short answer: it seemed like a good idea at the time, and now we're stuck with it.  I suspect Sandor G and/or Marc F have put up a well-researched page somewhere with more details.  Anyway, the original interchange was a run-of-the-mill 1950s-design tangled semi-directional T between the North Innerbelt, East Innerbelt, and North Freeway – all of which were I-71 at first – and some local streets.  Then in the 90s they built the Northeast Freeway. To better serve commuter traffic, the new freeway was designed to connect more directly with the 3rd/4th St one-way pair than with either leg of the Innerbelt.  Through movements on I-670 were expected to be (and still kind of are) low-volume movements, so they were designed more like ramps that exit the mainline.  Because of that and the historic status of the Fort Hayes complex, the eastbound and westbound lanes were split by more than half a mile.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

vtk

Dispatch reporting on progress:

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/09/18/1-year-later-crawlumbus-is-speeding-along.html

I-670 should be back to normal and better than before by christmachanukwaanzivus.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

vtk

Another photo dump...


All of these were taken from the east side of I-71 from Long St to just north of Spring St, or from the Long St bridge.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

vtk

Portions of Project 3 (70/71 East Split Interchange) may begin next summer.  Funding has apparently been found for rebuilding the 18th St bridge over I-70, and (I think) a new bridge carrying the new exit ramp from I-70 WB to Mound St.  Full article: State Innovation, Efficiency Eliminates Delays for Five Major Projects.  That title neglects to also credit a slight boost in federal funds, and savings related to good weather.
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

vtk

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

vtk

#69
Major traffic switch for I-670 EB this weekend:

Second Verse Same as the First

Big chunk of I-670 closed over the weekend, from I-70 or OH 315 to I-71.  One lane will be open from I-70 to OH 315 NB, but I'm not sure if that will be the whole weekend or just Saturday afternoon.  On Monday, I-670 eastbound is actually going to look a lot like it did before construction started, because they are going to use the new "auxilliary" bridge as the temporary mainline.  There will again be a left-exit for I-71 NB, but only until they move the mainline to the permanent mainline bridge.  I don't know why they couldn't have finished the two I-670 bridges concurrently.  I can imagine the complaints now, as this will look a lot like they've taken a giant step backwards and accomplished nothing in the last year.  I know better, but the average motorist barely has a clue...
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

vtk

Weekend switch has been completed. 

Partial photo dump from yesterday:
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

Truvelo

I decided to do a few laps of the inner belt whilst in Columbus last Friday so here's some pictures looking from a vehicle. This was before the weekend switch so things may have changed. The last time I was in Columbus was November last year where I went straight through on I-70.

Of concern is the rust running down the side of the new overpass in the last picture. This and the overuse of fluorescent orange signs.







Speed limits limit life

Central Avenue

Nothing big, but I was driving through this afternoon and I noticed that at least one of the silly-looking combination pull-through/exit signs, of all things, has gotten a carbon-copy Clearview replacement. I had expected that to be a quirk that was going away during the construction...

I didn't get a picture of the new one yet, but the old one looked like this:



As far as I can tell, the I-71 sign on the right hasn't been replaced at all.
Routewitches. These children of the moving road gather strength from travel . . . Rather than controlling the road, routewitches choose to work with it, borrowing its strength and using it to make bargains with entities both living and dead. -- Seanan McGuire, Sparrow Hill Road

vtk

#73
The exit signs for I-71 are certainly still orange-patched to note the temporary lane configuration, whereby 3 lanes exit for I-71 instead of just two.  Apparently that's gone back to normal, in conjunction with the reopening of the left exit to 3rd.  I didn't notice if the sign had been replaced, but I wouldn't expect that unless they change its message later.  In other places in this project, older (but not button copy) signs have been re-used in new locations; at least one is probably there permanently. 

I'm hoping this project will allow ODOT to fix the inconsistent exit numbers in the area; some of them are just about guaranteed to be fixed due to changed ramp topologies, but I fear some will remain – notably, how exits 4A and 4B are 3rd and 4th Streets, but which is which depends on the direction one is exiting from :-(
Wait, it's all Ohio? Always has been.

PurdueBill

Replacement of that all-in-one pull-through/exit advance, with button copy aplenty and the ultra-cool 2-digit 670 shield, should not be tolerated.  That stinks!

The right-hand sign is very Illinois with the full-width tab.  I know that's an artifact of the top lighting (which seems to be peculiar to Columbus; never seen many top-lighted signs in Ohio outside Columbus) but usually the top-lighted signs with exit tabs looked different than that.  Usually the space next to the tab was non-reflective material that was not part of the actual sign.  Not being button copy, this one was probably a one-off, but at least a neat one.

Stuff like this being Clearviewified makes my stomach turn.  Bleah......



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