So WB I-670 is getting shifted south to follow the EB lanes?
I don't know about the proposed design; it just seems that it would be better to try to relocate EB I-670 northward to follow the WB lanes and try and then either try for a stack interchange, or downgrade the current EB lanes to provide for EB to SB and NB to WB movements.
So WB I-670 is getting shifted south to follow the EB lanes?
There's a couple a things askew with that image. There is no connection between I-71 NB to I-670 WB. On top of that, the "proposed" WB 670 just runs over the existing 71 NB to 670 WB connector (that somehow doesn't connect to 71 NB). The ramps from I-71 SB (and I-670 WB) to Leonard Ave/Cleveland Ave (Ft. Hayes) have disapeared too
Here is my question: What is so bad about the current I-71/I-670 interchanges that they have to pour a quarter of a billion dollars to re-build it?
It's my understanding that they are upgrading this end so that when the *real* work starts (70/71) this will be the alternate...almost sounded like the split would be closed.
So WB I-670 is getting shifted south to follow the EB lanes?
I don't know about the proposed design; it just seems that it would be better to try to relocate EB I-670 northward to follow the WB lanes and try and then either try for a stack interchange, or downgrade the current EB lanes to provide for EB to SB and NB to WB movements.
It does appear the exit from WB 670 to NB 71 will stay as is.
Technically, it will be moved about 50 feet southward of the current I-670 EB lanes, and more noticeably, it will become a right-side exit.
Technically, it will be moved about 50 feet southward of the current I-670 EB lanes, and more noticeably, it will become a right-side exit.
Isn't it right side now? At any rate, do you have any maps or drawings showing the finished project? I was bouncing around ODOT's site today and either I'm dumb or there is just too much bullshit and malarkey to wade through...I just can't seem to find anything showing the completed design.
Currently, on EB I-670 past Third and Fourth Streets,Technically, it will be moved about 50 feet southward of the current I-670 EB lanes, and more noticeably, it will become a right-side exit.
Isn't it right side now? At any rate, do you have any maps or drawings showing the finished project? I was bouncing around ODOT's site today and either I'm dumb or there is just too much bullshit and malarkey to wade through...I just can't seem to find anything showing the completed design.
* There's a "temporary" ramp from WB I-670 to Spring St, probably to make up for the closing of the Third St exit. I put "temporary" in quotes because it looks a lot like the eventual Lester Dr exit which will terminate at Spring St, but then again I had to guess at the actual geometry of this ramp. I suspect construction of this temporary ramp won't begin until the Innerbelt through ramps are closed.
* There's a "temporary" ramp from WB I-670 to Spring St, probably to make up for the closing of the Third St exit. I put "temporary" in quotes because it looks a lot like the eventual Lester Dr exit which will terminate at Spring St, but then again I had to guess at the actual geometry of this ramp. I suspect construction of this temporary ramp won't begin until the Innerbelt through ramps are closed.
I recall seeing something somewhere...possibly in the Dispatch that said basically what you're thinking. They phrased it as something like "a temporary ramp to Spring that will be made permanent in the future." The way they put it didn't make sense when I read it but now that you mentioned it that's most likely exactly what's happening.
You sure there is to be no access to the Mt. Vernon neighborhood? No access to Leonard Ave or even a left turn onto Spring St from I-71? :hmmm:
(http://bishopdan.com/images/fthayes2.jpg)
I had a long post typed up because I couldn't figure out why there would be two sections of EB traffic and it hit me right before I hit post (exits to 71 :pan:) so I'll just leave my crappy pic here as a monument to my thick skull.
Looks like the exit from I-71 SB to Leonard Ave/Ft. Hayes is staying around :clap: (unlike what the "official" ODOT 3-D map shows)
Permanent closure begins late October [or] early November 2011
Looks like the exit from I-71 SB to Leonard Ave/Ft. Hayes is staying around :clap: (unlike what the "official" ODOT 3-D map shows)Quote from: ODOTPermanent closure begins late October [or] early November 2011
That ramp has to go; it's in the way of the eventual ramp from I-670 WB to Jack Gibbs Blvd and Lester Dr. Where it splits from mainline I-71 is where the eventual Lester Dr exit is going to branch off. I'm really not sure how they're going to get there from the way it's set up now, but I guess that's why the project has multiple phases. Hopefully, we'll have as much information about the next phases as we do about phase 1.
A bit off-topic, but I spotted this video of Columbus growth 1912-2011, we see how the highway network progressed.
That's what I've been afraid of since they classified those parts Tier II, pushing the work back to at least the next funding cycle. More specifically, I'm afraid of what the South Innerbelt will look like in its half-upgraded "temporary" configuration. ODOT has touted "walk-away phasing", but I'm still concerned about iffy transitional alignments, lane drops, and a WB/SB weave as bad a the current EB/NB weave.Theres the possiblilty that this will make Spring-Sandusky's time frame look like an egg timer.
That's what I've been afraid of since they classified those parts Tier II, pushing the work back to at least the next funding cycle. More specifically, I'm afraid of what the South Innerbelt will look like in its half-upgraded "temporary" configuration. ODOT has touted "walk-away phasing", but I'm still concerned about iffy transitional alignments, lane drops, and a WB/SB weave as bad a the current EB/NB weave.Theres the possiblilty that this will make Spring-Sandusky's time frame look like an egg timer.
So after the I-71/670 rebuild, nothing else on this project will be started on till 2025 now?!? Is it too late for ODOT to stop construction now, rebuild the ramps and bridges to what they were before they started tearing stuff down in the fall and leave well enough alone till they're ready to do everything in one fell swoop?
This makes the Spring-Sandusky project (I-670/US 33/Oh 315) look like a high school term paper.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2012/01/17/ODOT-pushes-back-phases-of-Downtown-reconstruction.html
Local TV station's update on the I-71/670 rebuild
http://www2.nbc4i.com/news/2012/apr/10/odot-starts-the-2012-construction-season-ar-995289/
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'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
What about coming back on Tuesday August 2nd? Travelling E-W.Rush hour, take 270 south. Non-peak hours stay on I-70
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?
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 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)
Why does i-670 do that weird split anyway?
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.
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 :-(
(http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.2s.jpg) (http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.2.jpg) Ramp from Elijah Pierce Ave / Spring St to I-71 NB bridge over ramp from I-71 NB to I-670 WB (http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.9s.jpg) (http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.9.jpg) Ramp from Elijah Pierce Ave / Spring St to I-71 NB (http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.12s.jpg) (http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.12.jpg) I-71, north view from Spring St (http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.16s.jpg) (http://vidthekid.info/imghost/2013-06-04.16.jpg) I-71 SB bridge over ramp from I-670 EB to I-71 SB; temporary I-71 SB
Today, work begins on re-connecting Mound Street between 5th Street and Grant Avenue — a key part of the plan to establish Mound as a one-way collector street bringing west-bound traffic into Downtown from I-70. Traffic will flow into Downtown from a new “fly-over” bridge that will connect the freeway to Mound Street where it currently intersects with Washington Street. Once the Mound Street Connector is open, which ODOT is estimating will be in the fall of 2014, the 4th Street exit from I-70 west will close.
…
A new 18th Street bridge, which is also included in this phase of the project, will feature street lights and wrought-iron fencing.
…
Phase 2D is scheduled to start in 2014 and will include further work on Mound Street (west of 4th Street), as well as new exit ramps to Parsons Avenue, new bridges at Main, Grant and 4th Streets, and work on Fulton Street — which will eventually serve as the east-bound collector road for downtown.
(http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/odot-mound-02.jpg)
(http://www.columbusunderground.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/odot-mound-01.jpg)
For that matter, US 62 and OH 16 are on that stretch of Broad St; why aren't they mentioned?
For that matter, US 62 and OH 16 are on that stretch of Broad St; why aren't they mentioned?
That always bothered me too. It makes sense to omit OH 16, I guess, since the entirety of OH 16 west of Bexley is redundant with US 40, but why leave off US 62?
For that matter, US 62 and OH 16 are on that stretch of Broad St; why aren't they mentioned?
That always bothered me too. It makes sense to omit OH 16, I guess, since the entirety of OH 16 west of Bexley is redundant with US 40, but why leave off US 62?
They omit quite a few routes on the BGSs in Downtown Cleveland as well: (US-6 is not listed on the Superior Avenue Exit, US-322 is not listed on the Chester Avenue Exit, US-422/SR-8 are not listed on the Woodland Avenue exit,...(though to ODOTs defense, the latter exit already lists East 30th St., Woodland and Broadway Avenues on the signs -- adding shields to the sign is TMI!)
So don't feel bad, Columbus.
At least columbus didn't pull an indianapolis and get rid of all the highways inside the beltway
US 23 is the worst offender
At least columbus didn't pull an indianapolis and get rid of all the highways inside the beltway
Honestly, this might be an improvement, at least in moderation, given that most routes running through the city zigzag in ways no one would ever think of traveling and do not conform to historic routes (US 23 is the worst offender, but US 33, US 40, US 62, and OH 3 all do this to one degree or another).
I might need to make a Fictional Highways post out of this ...
To give you an example, for snow plowing in Columbus: the state does the interstates, the city does SRs 104 and 315, even though they are state routes and freeways. The state has nothing like say Virginia, where everything is a state road. Here there are state, county, and even township roads. The township my mom lives in has a "road and cemetery" department and that's pretty much all the services she gets from them.
I think US 23 was rerouted off High St in the 60s; I could pin it down tighter, but I'm not on my PC at the moment to look at the old maps.
Seems like if they kept US 40 / Broad St on that sign, they might as well have said "to I-670" as well. For that matter, US 62 and OH 16 are on that stretch of Broad St; why aren't they mentioned?
The Mound Street Connector and related work along Mound Street are nearing completion. I think that should be done by the end of the year.
Google now has aerial imagery from mid June, so it's now pretty easy to see what's changed since 2011.
Didn't get a pic, but there's a sign on the Exit 100B ramp from I-70W/I-71S to Fourth Street (US 23) indicating it is closing for good this Friday (November 7), so presumably the Mound Street Connector will be open for business on or near that date. There was also a new overhead sign (labeled simply "Downtown") installed over the ramp for what will be Exit 101B.
Columbus highway project will idle until 2017 after connector is completed
Rick Rouan
Nov 2, 2014 06:11
Commuters will be getting some breathing room on Downtown highways for at least a little while.
The Ohio Department of Transportation’s plan to untangle Downtown highways will be on hiatus for two years once the $30 million Mound Street connector project wraps up this fall.
That means the cranes, bulldozers and pavers that have become a mainstay on interstates near the city center shouldn’t return in force until 2017.
The new ramp bridge that will carry westbound I-70 traffic onto Mound Street, which is now a one-way street, opens on Saturday. ODOT will close the 4th Street exit from the highway for good on Friday. Complete General Construction still needs to finish rebuilding the 18th Street bridge over the highway before the project is completed at the end of the year.
Once the finishing touches are applied, though, Downtown highways should be clear of major construction until nearly $300 million for the next two phases becomes available in 2017.
“Things will settle down for a while,” said Rick Tilton, assistant director in the Columbus Department of Public Service. “There will be a period of adjustment.”
ODOT has been working on Downtown interstates since September 2011, when it started the $200 million rebuilding of the I-71/670 interchange. Crews finished that project this year.
The Mound Street connector project started in July 2013. A new bridge will carry westbound I-70 drivers who want to exit to Downtown over the interchange and Parsons Avenue and onto the surface street, where they can connect with northbound arteries.
The project also seals off the 4th Street exit, a crash-prone area that drivers were using illegally, said Nancy Burton, ODOT spokeswoman. “There was a lot of weaving and merging of people trying to enter the highway, people trying to go through and people trying to exit.”
About 175,000 vehicles use the interchange each day, and the corridor averaged two crashes a day between 2002 and 2012.
Drivers will have to decide sooner that they want to exit to Downtown, Burton said. Drivers rounding the bend after exits for Alum Creek and Miller-Kelton will need to stay in the second lane from the left to hit the new ramp. The ramp then will split into two lanes before it dumps traffic onto Mound, she said.
Signs for the exit will read Downtown, she said, not Mound Street.
Mound already has been converted for one-way traffic between Washington Avenue and 4th Street. Traffic signals are in place at Washington and Grant avenues and 4th and 5th streets. All of those streets can be used to head north into the heart of Downtown.
The 18th Street bridge should re-open to traffic in December, Burton said, capping off more than three years of continuous Downtown highway construction.
ODOT is to be back on Downtown interstates in 2017 to start work on the I-70/71 east interchange, a $166 million project. It also is to start rebuilding eastbound and northbound lanes of the I-70/71 south innerbelt, which will cost about $128 million.
Future phases are planned in 2022 and 2023.
“Ultimately, when the entire Downtown improvements are done, it will provide for people to be somewhat more direct to their destination,” said Nick Gill, assistant transportation director at the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission.
They've finally gotten a little wise and have restriped 70 to two through lanes at the connector, merging to one closer to the old 4th street exit. Only problem is now the Downtown exit sign has the arrow pointing at the wrong lane.
They've finally gotten a little wise and have restriped 70 to two through lanes at the connector, merging to one closer to the old 4th street exit. Only problem is now the Downtown exit sign has the arrow pointing at the wrong lane.
I've only gone through there once since the change, and I didn't really get a good look at what needs fixing with the signs.
A drive down the Mound St. Connector. I even managed to hit a green wave!
Columbus Crossroads main project website: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/Pages/default.aspx (http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/Pages/default.aspx) (page layout a bit broken -- look for a horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the content area...)
...is subsequent work currently on hold until funding kicks in?
Columbus Crossroads main project website: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/Pages/default.aspx (http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/Pages/default.aspx) (page layout a bit broken -- look for a horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the content area...)
Indeed the web page is designed poorly. Trying to find current information requires some sifting, and the best I could discover are PDF files from March of 2014 (http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/publicmeetings/Pages/March-19-2014Meeting.aspx).
Based upon the March 2014 section of the site, is subsequent work currently on hold until funding kicks in?
http://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/7071/publicmeetings/March2014MeetingFiles/03-19-14%20-1-%20Columbus%20Crossroads%20Phasing%20Plan.pdf
There was a community meeting some time ago regarding the Bellows School. I think ODOT gave in to preservationists (even though the only thing holding it up is the will of the almighty and I think the plywood over the windows is now load bearing :) ) but that scratches the EB 70 to NB 315 movement. No big loss, just take 670, but they are still tinkering with the design on that end.
The next phase of 70/71, the east split full rebuild, was scheduled for 2017 but has been postponed to '18 due to a lack of funding, according to recent reporting in local media.
I'll believe in the start of "phase 4" & "phase 6" when I see it. There is no secured funding for them as of now.
What they're basically promising now is 7 years of continuous construction and then it still won't be all done, unless they move forward with other phases before 2024, in which case it'll be at least a decade of continuous construction. We're about to get an orange-barrel occupation like Clevelanders, Cincinnatians, Daytonians, and Toledoans are familiar with.
(http://www.roadfan.com/sprsan93.jpg)
Morphed into...
(http://www.roadfan.com/ss1.jpg)
At the turn of the millennium, this was 315 between Town St and Goodale Blvd.
Bummer--the bridge-mounted sign for Greenlawn that is abnormally high above the road on 315 SB (if it is still 315 there) as it goes under 70 WB will be irrelevant now and probably gone soon (if not already).It was removed the day of the closure.
Bummer--the bridge-mounted sign for Greenlawn that is abnormally high above the road on 315 SB (if it is still 315 there) as it goes under 70 WB will be irrelevant now and probably gone soon (if not already).It was removed the day of the closure.
I understand why the exit is now prohibited from 315SB, but it really creates other challenges to get into German/Merion Villages. The detour is 71SB to 104, and then using 104 to head east or get back on 71NB to exit Greenlawn from that direction. With speaking with neighbors, most are using 315SB to 70EB, and then having to merge across 4 lanes in 1/2 mile to exit Front/High Streets. During rush hour, this is a huge challenge and creates other issues.
Other ongoing projects in the area are making travel into the southside neighborhoods rather annoying and tiresome. As part of the Crossroads, the Grant Avenue bridge from downtown to GV over I-70 has been demolished. And Columbus City is re-configuring Parsons Avenue from 4 lanes to 3 (1 each direction + 1 center turn lane) and this has created bottlenecks getting down through Nationwide Children's.
That sign in Columbus was memorably high--it was the first thing I thought of when the exit prohibition was mentioned.
I understand why the exit is now prohibited from 315SB, but it really creates other challenges to get into German/Merion Villages. The detour is 71SB to 104, and then using 104 to head east or get back on 71NB to exit Greenlawn from that direction. With speaking with neighbors, most are using 315SB to 70EB, and then having to merge across 4 lanes in 1/2 mile to exit Front/High Streets. During rush hour, this is a huge challenge and creates other issues.
Other ongoing projects in the area are making travel into the southside neighborhoods rather annoying and tiresome. As part of the Crossroads, the Grant Avenue bridge from downtown to GV over I-70 has been demolished. And Columbus City is re-configuring Parsons Avenue from 4 lanes to 3 (1 each direction + 1 center turn lane) and this has created bottlenecks getting down through Nationwide Children's.
It seems like the practical detour in Columbus is no better than the old condition with a weave.
Wait, is that a tunnel? Or at least what passes for a tunnel in Columbus? Somehow I missed that. It's too hard to see a lot of what's going on when you drive through since it's about like navigating Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course right now.ODOT is referring to it as a tunnel
- The eastbound I-70 ramp to Route 315 north will close permanently in spring 2022.
An unanswered question
http://twitter.com/vidthekid/status/1440786537378050050
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.
- 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.
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.
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
When was "Pax Split", anyway? The time when it was actually settled for a little while and not a mess somehow. 1975-1980?
Like Pax Americana:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Americana (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pax_Americana)
I’ve seen the renderings of the finished project, but seeing the bridge supports being erected really gives you a sense of the scale of this thing. The flyover from downtown to I-71 south has one 80 feet (!) tall, which should be awesome in snow or ice.
It looks nice, but compared to some of the freeway's in other states, they could have done more with the curb appeal. Peoria, Green Bay, Des Moines and Denver have especially nice aesthetics. I like Peoria and Denver the best.