Ohio

[TempoNick]

I think it would between OH-3 and Sawmill Rd. but the usage rate would probably be low considering the existing left lane sees little use. Everyone wants on or off at one of the exits.

Don't forget the express lanes on I-270 on the east side of town. They seem to work pretty well. You could have two express lanes with points where you can enter and exit, and three or four lanes exiting.

[sprjus4]

Obviously now we're just getting into technical terms and it's not that important, but I wouldn't necessarily call the I-270 lanes "express" lanes, it seems more of a traditional C/D setup for two interchanges close by.

Something traveling the length of OH-3 to Sawmill would bypass several local exits, much closer in design to Cleveland's I-271 beltway, is something I'd consider more of an "express" lane setup.

[TempoNick]

Obviously now we're just getting into technical terms and it's not that important, but I wouldn't necessarily call the I-270 lanes "express" lanes, it seems more of a traditional C/D setup for two interchanges close by.

Something traveling the length of OH-3 to Sawmill would bypass several local exits, much closer in design to Cleveland's I-271 beltway, is something I'd consider more of an "express" lane setup.

Fair point, but whatever you want to call them, they push traffic around a major interchange and bottleneck to keep you going on your way. Would pushing people around I-71, US 23 and Ohio 315 be of any value? I don't know, but one big problem is that they are all kind of close together.

When I was a kid, I was amused at all the lanes they had on the east side because they were very sparsely used. Looks like they knew what they were doing. That took a lot of foresight, something we don't see a lot of these days.

[thenetwork]

Obviously now we're just getting into technical terms and it's not that important, but I wouldn't necessarily call the I-270 lanes "express" lanes, it seems more of a traditional C/D setup for two interchanges close by.

Something traveling the length of OH-3 to Sawmill would bypass several local exits, much closer in design to Cleveland's I-271 beltway, is something I'd consider more of an "express" lane setup.

It could also be a shorter Express Lanes setup like the stretch of I-480 from just west of I-77 to just east of the Valley View Bridge.  It's similar to the stretch of I-270 from SR-315 to I-71 where most of the traffic along that stretch enters or leaves the freeway in that short stretch.

[lepidopteran]

I-71, US 33 and Ohio 315 ... they are all kind of close together.

And if US 23 is ever upgraded between Waldo and I-270, and the ramps were modified to eliminate the traffic signals to/from the north, you'd have yet another freeway-to-freeway interchange in the mix.

[vtk]

An outer-outer belt isn't going to help conditions on I-270 at all. However, it would be smart to maintain expressway upgradeability on the routes connecting the county seats surrounding Columbus. If I were driving from Johnstown to Hebron in 2050, I wouldn't want to be stuck on suburban stroads the whole way. Maybe one day a network of expressways will form a ring around Columbus, but it will be for the benefit of the outlying cities, not the urban core, and personally I would prefer it be conceived of as a system or network of inter-county links, not as a single road that just goes in a huge circle.

If we really want a relief route to take traffic off of the busiest parts of 270, it'll pretty much have to be a shortcut of some kind, not a big arcing bypass. Maybe a 4-lane freeway from I-70 just east of Springfield (or US 68 just north of Springfield), south of Marysville and north of Delaware, to I-71 south of Mt Gilead; and another from US 33 at Carroll, past Pataskala and Johnstown, to I-71 at Marengo. These two hypothetical new roads should not be considered as one route.

[thenetwork]

The US 23 corridor should be upgraded to a freeway between Delaware and Columbus, though the latest proposal does not include this. Between Circleville and Columbus, only incremental improvements are planned. However, a full interstate corridor—Interstate 73—may be back on the table.

 Study to examine proposed Interstate 73 in Ohio
On February 25, 2025, the Ohio Legislature introduced House Bill 54, a measure designed to improve the state's transportation infrastructure and services. The bill allocates up to $2 million in Fiscal Year 2026 for a feasibility study on developing an Interstate Route 73 corridor to Toledo. The study will evaluate the potential for a new transportation route and its impact on regional development and economic growth.

This bill (https://legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb54) unanimously passed the House and is now waiting for consideration by the Ohio Senate. While it includes the feasibility study for I-73, it also includes a provision that requires ODOT and the Turnpike Commission to provide preliminary engineering for a preferred alternative for a connector between I-71 and US 23 within 3 months of Gov. DeWine signing the bill. There are too many representatives in leadership positions (House Speaker, Senste President, House Finance Chair, etc.) for the provisions to get line item vetos.

Any word on the progression of this bill???

[GCrites]

I think it would between OH-3 and Sawmill Rd. but the usage rate would probably be low considering the existing left lane sees little use. Everyone wants on or off at one of the exits.

Don't forget the express lanes on I-270 on the east side of town. They seem to work pretty well. You could have two express lanes with points where you can enter and exit, and three or four lanes exiting.

The merges where the C/D roads end in both directions are terrible though with today's volume. You'd want to handle that differently in a place where volume is even higher.

[Bitmapped]

The US 23 corridor should be upgraded to a freeway between Delaware and Columbus, though the latest proposal does not include this. Between Circleville and Columbus, only incremental improvements are planned. However, a full interstate corridor—Interstate 73—may be back on the table.

 Study to examine proposed Interstate 73 in Ohio
On February 25, 2025, the Ohio Legislature introduced House Bill 54, a measure designed to improve the state's transportation infrastructure and services. The bill allocates up to $2 million in Fiscal Year 2026 for a feasibility study on developing an Interstate Route 73 corridor to Toledo. The study will evaluate the potential for a new transportation route and its impact on regional development and economic growth.

This bill (https://legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/hb54) unanimously passed the House and is now waiting for consideration by the Ohio Senate. While it includes the feasibility study for I-73, it also includes a provision that requires ODOT and the Turnpike Commission to provide preliminary engineering for a preferred alternative for a connector between I-71 and US 23 within 3 months of Gov. DeWine signing the bill. There are too many representatives in leadership positions (House Speaker, Senste President, House Finance Chair, etc.) for the provisions to get line item vetos.

Any word on the progression of this bill???

As shown on page that was linked in the post you replied to, it was signed into law.

Section 203.25 includes $1.5M for a feasibility study for I-73 from Toledo to Chesapeake. The study is to be done by December 31, 2026.

It also appropriates $500,000 split between ODOT and OTIC for a "joint plan" regarding options connecting to US 23 to I-71. This is supposed to be done within 3 months of the bill's effective date, so by October 1.

Given the amounts and timelines here, I wouldn't read much into the inclusion of these items. Some legislator wanted it and so it gone thrown in. These aren't serious dollar amounts, or in the case of US 23 to I-71, timelines, for anything to do any actual work.