Ohio

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Some more Columbus.
ODOT/City of Columbus has finished work on the exit for West North Broadway (St)/Olentangy River Rd & Oh 315.


(To help orient viewers; Riverside Hospital would be to your right (out of the picture), Olentangy River is hiding in the trees to your left, and Downtown Columbus is on the horizon in the upper right corner of the photo)

[okroads]

Some more Columbus.
ODOT/City of Columbus has finished work on the exit for West North Broadway (St)/Olentangy River Rd & Oh 315.


(To help orient viewers; Riverside Hospital would be to your right (out of the picture), Olentangy River is hiding in the trees to your left, and Downtown Columbus is on the horizon in the upper right corner of the photo)

The ramp from Olentangy River Road to 315 South (on the bottom right corner of the aerial view) is still closed, but looks like it will reopen soon.

[okroads]

Noticed a new mileage sign on OH 4 just north of the OH 162 intersection, which had the mileage to both Sandusky and to the Turnpike, but signed it with an I-80 shield, an I-90 shield and a yellow toll banner, instead of saying "Ohio Turnpike" as I have seen on other milage signs.

Back on October 5, I noticed several new distance signs in Seneca County with mixed case letters and route shields. I believe ODOT District 2 is the first to do this, as I have not noticed this anywhere else yet.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Noticed a new mileage sign on OH 4 just north of the OH 162 intersection, which had the mileage to both Sandusky and to the Turnpike, but signed it with an I-80 shield, an I-90 shield and a yellow toll banner, instead of saying "Ohio Turnpike" as I have seen on other milage signs.

Back on October 5, I noticed several new distance signs in Seneca County with mixed case letters and route shields. I believe ODOT District 2 is the first to do this, as I have not noticed this anywhere else yet.

Like this?

(From July of this year)

[Buck87]

Was on the Portsmouth bypass yesterday, which reminded me that it has that type of mileage sign as well. ODOT seems to be doing a lot of mileage sign improvements, at least in this area. Just noticed new ones on OH 67 with Bellevue and Republic on them that were never there before that I can recall.

VS988

[coldshoulder]

A newly-constructed interchange is now open in southern Mahoning County, at I-680 and OH-164, just north of the Ohio Turnpike.  The project also included building a roundabout just to the west at the intersection of OH-164 and OH-626.  The pic in the link below is oriented with the north on the right and west at the top.

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D04/mah/I680SR164-Project/PublishingImages/2019-I-680andSR164.png

[ysuindy]

A newly-constructed interchange is now open in southern Mahoning County, at I-680 and OH-164, just north of the Ohio Turnpike.  The project also included building a roundabout just to the west at the intersection of OH-164 and OH-626.  The pic in the link below is oriented with the north on the right and west at the top.

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/districts/D04/mah/I680SR164-Project/PublishingImages/2019-I-680andSR164.png

Here is a story from the Tribune/Vindicator on the opening of the interchange

https://www.vindy.com/news/local-news/2019/11/beaver-twp-interchange-opens-to-i-680/

I drove down 680 to the next exit last week - definitely different after more than 40 years of having to get off at Western Reserve Road or end up well in to Pennsylvania. 

My son took a picture for me, but it looks just like the picture in the article.

This will help ease some of the congestion at the 680-Western Reserve - South Avenue exit.  Traffic heading to North Lima and Columbiana County will use the new exit.

The roundabout has been open for a few months.  First time I drove a truck started to take the wrong roundabout exit and we all sat there while he backed up and ran over the center circle.

The best improvement was the widening of the South Avenue (164) bridge over the turnpike - providing a left turn lane for 626.

I'm skeptical of how much economic development comes from the new exit.  I hope I'm wrong on that.

[thenetwork]

I agree that development may be limited around the new exit, but that's gonna be a busy exit for those wishing to shunpike the steep tolls on the Penna Turnpike between the Ohio line and I-79 going to Pittsburgh. 

Using the OH-164/626/165 combo to reach OH-14/PA-51 will avoid all tolls in the Keystone state, as PA-51 dumps you right at the Return of Free I-376 at Chippewa.

Of course, for now, going west from Pittsburgh to Youngstown is still the bargain as you only pay the Ohio tolls if you come from I-79.

[Buck87]

There is yet another new traffic light going in on US 23 in Delaware County. This one is just south of the Delaware Walmart/Kroger complex at a road serving a housing development, and just north of the light that was added at Meeker Way not too long ago.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

There is yet another new traffic light going in on US 23 in Delaware County. This one is just south of the Delaware Walmart/Kroger complex at a road serving a housing development, and just north of the light that was added at Meeker Way not too long ago.

It's only the 8th traffic light added to US 23, between Oh 315 and US 42. (less than 2 miles between the points)

[Buck87]

Last night I saw, what I think is a new mileage sign on I-280 that also had shields on it. It had US 20 and I-80/I-90/Ohio Turnpike shield (as opposed to the yellow "Toll" banner on the mileage sign I mentioned above on OH 4)

Also, I suppose I-280 in Toledo is the only place where one would see Cleveland (Ohio) as the control city for the southbound direction.

[Buck87]

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/maps/2019MapFiles/2019StateMap-Map.pdf

Looking at the latest ODOT Map that came out sometime in 2019, and I see they've made some changes to the style for the first time in over 20 years

- fonts are all different
- new style US and Interstate shields
- state route and local road lines are much narrower
- separate shade of yellow for villages that's really light
- new symbols for colleges, amtrak stations, nature preserves, state parks with and without camping, VA medical centers
- new color and more detail for out of state areas

- on one hand, the US 23 corridor is very specific about which sections are freeway vs divided highway and divided highway vs. paved two or more lane
- on the other hand, the US 20 Norwalk bypass is no longer shown as a freeway even though it clearly is one, while there's a stretch of US 20 between Clyde and Fremont that is now shown as a freeway even though it clearly is not one
- OH 309 incorrectly shown as a freeway in Ontario
- congrats to New Boston on now being the county seat of Scioto County

[seicer]

I spot some other errors, such as US 52 not being shown as a freeway in parts whereas it is.

[Buck87]

I've noticed another mistake that's really egregious, a 2 lane section of US 250 that forms the northern part of the Ashland, OH bypass between OH 60 and US 42 is shown as a full freeway.

[tdindy88]

I got an Ohio map not too long ago and noticed another big "error." On the Columbus inset on the back, Ohio State University is not spelled with a "the." On the other hand, that's great restraint on the part of ODOT.

[seicer]

My biggest complaint is that the two-or-more-lanes line (a thin black line) makes even major roads look like minor highways, such as US 23 north of Columbus. It's four-lane divided with a center turn lane, not a minor two-lane road, but the line doesn't differentiate between that.

[Buck87]

Another glaring mistake I just noticed the OH 10/US 20 freeway from I-480 to Oberlin is no longer shown as a freeway, despite being correctly show as such on previous maps

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Along with an Ohio 20 shield, west of Painesville and the Oh 19/100 overlap being mistakingly extended to the Crawford/Seneca County line.

The ODOT 2019 edition is the sloppiest roadmap they've put out in the GIS era (and that goes back to 1993)

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

My biggest complaint is that the two-or-more-lanes line (a thin black line) makes even major roads look like minor highways, such as US 23 north of Columbus. It's four-lane divided with a center turn lane, not a minor two-lane road, but the line doesn't differentiate between that.

ODOT has always shown the two sections of 5 laned (undivided with the turn lane) US 23 in Delaware County as a "two lane" road on their maps over the decades.

[Buck87]

^ and they are now showing the same simple line for other 4 lane sections of 23 that lack a grass median, such as between Chillicothe and Waverly, and some very specific on and off portions in Scioto County. Though at least this version of the map has Lucasville in the correct place, unlike some previous versions.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Speaking of traffic lights along US 23, between I-270 and Delaware; Delaware County & City have taken another study on US 23.
https://www.delgazette.com/news/81227/council-hears-us-23-corridor-study

[Buck87]

The rest area on US 33 westbound between Pomeroy and Darwin now has modern restroom facilities. I remember it being primitive not too long ago.

It's the smallest restroom I've seen for a modern Ohio rest area (1 stall, 1 urinal in the men's, and I assume 2 stalls for the women) but it's better than what it had before. Not quite sure, but they may have installed these flush toilets in the same building that housed the primitive ones.

And for whatever reason the little kiosk shack has a map of Meigs County and an Ohio map with the city inset side showing....but no full Ohio road map on display. Though at least there are folded maps available in a brochure holder.



VS988

[Buck87]

Speaking of traffic lights along US 23, between I-270 and Delaware; Delaware County & City have taken another study on US 23.
https://www.delgazette.com/news/81227/council-hears-us-23-corridor-study

Hmm. While I guess it mentions traffic improvements a bit, this seems all about developing the remaining land along the corridor and deciding what mode of development is best, which will likely lead to more traffic lights either way. From the wording of the article they seem to focus on the corridor's role in a Delaware County centric view rather than as a key link in the statewide/regional transportation system. 

[The Ghostbuster]

How many traffic lights are there currently on US 23 in Ohio? Like from Portsmouth to Columbus, and Columbus to Toledo? I'd think a corridor like US 23 though Ohio should minimize the number of traffic lights encountered throughout the state (excluding through the city of Columbus, where such a policy would be impossible to implement).

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

From counting on Google Earth.
Between the Ohio River & Chillicothe,  22 traffic lights
Between Chillicothe & Circleville, 5 traffic lights
Between Circleville & I-270 (South), 9 traffic lights
Between I-270 (North) & US 42 (southside of Delaware), 31 traffic lights
Between Northside of Delaware & Waldo, 7 traffic lights.
Between Waldo and Carey, 0 traffic lights
Between Carey & US 20, 18 traffic lights
On the overlap with US 20 to I-75, 7 traffic lights

A total of 99 traffic lights along US 23 in Ohio