State Lays Out Vision for U.S. 23 Corridor Through Central Ohio

[carbaugh2]

Update on the budget bill:

The 5th option stayed in the bill. The Senate passed it 32-0, and the House concurred 87-3. No word on when Gov. DeWine will sign it into law.

As a reminder, Section 755.60 states that the report on the plan and preliminary engineering must be submitted to the legislature with 90 days of the effective date of the legislation, which puts it at the end of September (Fiscal Year 2026 starts on July 1st).

[TempoNick]

DeWine signs transportation budget with provision to create alternative on Toledo-Columbus route

TOLEDO, Ohio (WTVG) - Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed the transportation budget on Monday, which includes a mandate for Ohio transportation experts to come up with a plan to create a better route between Toledo and Columbus.

https://www.13abc.com/2025/03/31/dewine-signs-transportation-budget-with-provision-create-alternative-toledocolumbus-route/

[Rothman]

A mandate...to study the corridor!

[GCrites]

A mandate...to study the corridor!

If there's anything you can count on the Columbus metro to do every time it is pay for studies.

[The Ghostbuster]

It appears Interstate 270 has a proposed interchange at Davidson Rd. Can anyone tell me about that proposal?

[seicer]

No interchange is proposed by ODOT. It's also not in the TRAC list.

[thenetwork]

No interchange is proposed by ODOT. It's also not in the TRAC list.

The hotly debated I-71 / Boston Road interchange on the Strongsville (Cuyahoga County) / Brunswick (Medina County) border has been shelved for now.

Apparantly this stretch of I-71 Between SR-82 and SR-303 has the distinction of the *urban freeway* (not toll) with the largest gap between 2 exits in the US at just shy of 6 miles.

[TempoNick]

No interchange is proposed by ODOT. It's also not in the TRAC list.

The hotly debated I-71 / Boston Road interchange on the Strongsville (Cuyahoga County) / Brunswick (Medina County) border has been shelved for now.

Apparantly this stretch of I-71 Between SR-82 and SR-303 has the distinction of the *urban freeway* (not toll) with the largest gap between 2 exits in the US at just shy of 6 miles.

My cousin lives near there. That is a stupid place to dump a lot of traffic into. Everything west of there through US 42 is two-lane residential, the way I remember it. Unless someone wants to buy up all the houses along Boston Road, feeding I-71 to and from there would be insane.

[NE2]

No interchange is proposed by ODOT. It's also not in the TRAC list.

The hotly debated I-71 / Boston Road interchange on the Strongsville (Cuyahoga County) / Brunswick (Medina County) border has been shelved for now.

Apparantly this stretch of I-71 Between SR-82 and SR-303 has the distinction of the *urban freeway* (not toll) with the largest gap between 2 exits in the US at just shy of 6 miles.

It doesn't. Florida I-275 has 7 miles north of Tampa. Unless that doesn't count as urban because it's immediately surrounded by green?

But how the shit did the topic get here?

[carbaugh2]

I read the article from the Toledo station, but it didn't get much into detail. Here is the language that is being added to the Ohio Revised Code. There are two studies- the full US 23/Interstate 73 corridor that is due at the end of 2026, and a connector route between US 23 and Interstate 71 that would bypass the mess of traffic between 270 and Waldo that is due 90 days after the enactment of the budget, so the end of September. The study for the connector feels like it has more teeth than a normal study such as the one for the full 73 corridor.


SECTION 755.50.
The Director of Transportation shall conduct a feasibility study for the creation of an Interstate Route 73 corridor connecting the municipal corporation of Toledo to the municipal corporation of Chesapeake, primarily alongside current United States Route 23. The purpose of the new corridor is to better connect Interstate Route 74, Interstate Route 75, and the states of Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina along one
continuous interstate route.
The feasibility study shall examine how to alleviate congestion along United States Route 23, the economic impacts of a new interstate corridor, safety concerns, connectivity issues, and methods for coordinating with the other states and the United States Department of Transportation
for the creation of the corridor.
The Director shall complete the feasibility study not later than December 31, 2026.
 
SECTION 755.60.
(A) The Department of Transportation and the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission shall work together to create a joint plan regarding the feasibility of connecting U.S. Route 23 to Interstate Route 71 by doing one of the following:
 (1) Expanding State Route 229 in northern Delaware County;
 (2) Expanding another similar state route or other highway in northern Delaware County;
 (3) Creating a new freeway between U.S. Route 23 and Interstate Route 71 in northern Delaware County;
 (4) Creating a toll road between U.S. Route 23 and Interstate Route 71 in northern Delaware County;
 (5) Creating a new freeway, which may be a toll road, in the region between State Route 529 and Waldo, Ohio heading eastward toward Interstate Route 71 north of Marengo, Ohio in Marion County and Morrow County.
 (B) As part of the plan, related to the options specified in divisions (A)(3) and (4) of this section, the Department and Commission shall prepare a preliminary engineering report that determines the most feasible routes for the new freeway or toll road. As part of the report, the Department and Commission shall determine five potential alignments for the freeway or toll road and specify which alignment is the preferred route.
 (C) The plan shall be completed not later than three months after the effective date of this section.
 (D) As part of the plan, the Department and the Commission shall determine whether construction would be best conducted by the Department or the Commission. If construction is best conducted by the Commission, the plan also shall include whether the Commission's statutory
authority is sufficient to make the project a turnpike project.
 (E) The Department and Commission shall submit their plan to the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leaders of both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and the chairpersons of the respective committees of the House of Representatives and Senate responsible for transportation related matters.

(page 222 of https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/hb54/07_EN/pdf/)

[Buck87]

^ Thanks for that ORC language. It'll be interesting to see what comes of this.

[TempoNick]

Editorial:

"ODOT's plan is to clutter up an already overly congested lower Delaware County with intersection and turn lane upgrades to marginally increase (sic) trip time through the area."

https://www.toledoblade.com/opinion/editorials/2025/04/03/editorial-us-23-bypass-design-clears-big-hurdle-ohio-dewine-transportation-bill/stories/20250403012

[Great Lakes Roads]

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/119804

Proposed project to replace the US 23/SR 229 intersection with a new interchange.

I like Alternative 3 since SR 229 is on a continuous alignment instead of an awkward 90-degree right turn. 

[GCrites]

The RV dealership at US-23 and OH-762 is in the process of moving out of the path of the proposed interchange up to a higher spot out of its path.

[seicer]

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/119804

Proposed project to replace the US 23/SR 229 intersection with a new interchange.

I like Alternative 3 since SR 229 is on a continuous alignment instead of an awkward 90-degree right turn. 

The original plans from 1964 called for an interchange at SR 229 (PDF). The northbound ramps on US 23 would have formed a half-diamond within the existing right-of-way, while it would be two slip ramps for southbound US 23. Options 2 and 3 are my preferred.

[carbaugh2]

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/119804

Proposed project to replace the US 23/SR 229 intersection with a new interchange.

I like Alternative 3 since SR 229 is on a continuous alignment instead of an awkward 90-degree right turn. 

The evaluation matrix makes the case the alternative 3 is the best overall option and costs $4.5 million less than alternatives 2 and 4. I also prefer alternative 3 since it allows 229 to flow continuously. My thought on the timing of this is that we should read this project as a confirmation that a widened Ohio 229 is out as a solution for the US 23 to I-71 connector study passed in the transportation budget.