US 33 Upgrades in Ohio

[carbaugh2]

While the project page hasn't been updated, it looks like the widening project from 270 to Hill/Diley in southeast Columbus is progressing. The draft TRAC list shows that the project will be split into 2 segments, and the segment from 270 to Gender Rd is listed as receiving construction funding in Fiscal Year 2027.

[TempoNick]

While the project page hasn't been updated, it looks like the widening project from 270 to Hill/Diley in southeast Columbus is progressing. The draft TRAC list shows that the project will be split into 2 segments, and the segment from 270 to Gender Rd is listed as receiving construction funding in Fiscal Year 2027.

I haven't heard if the widening project includes updating some of the existing interchanges. Specifically, the Hamilton Road and Gender Road interchanges have some ramps that have somewhat of an outdated design.

[NE2]

Good luck getting federal funding for Gender Road improvements...

[vtk]

Good luck getting federal funding for Gender Road improvements...

I'm fortunate to have gotten my biggest Gender Road improvement during the Biden administration.

Happy Trans Day Of Visibility!

[carbaugh2]

While the project page hasn't been updated, it looks like the widening project from 270 to Hill/Diley in southeast Columbus is progressing. The draft TRAC list shows that the project will be split into 2 segments, and the segment from 270 to Gender Rd is listed as receiving construction funding in Fiscal Year 2027.

I haven't heard if the widening project includes updating some of the existing interchanges. Specifically, the Hamilton Road and Gender Road interchanges have some ramps that have somewhat of an outdated design.

Based on what I'm seeing in the MORPC Metropolitan Transportation Plan, it has a project listed for the Hamilton Road interchange and intersection modification for Hamilton and Williams Rds. with a construction date during the 2030s. It looks like the shorter-term focus is on converting the Bixby Rd intersection to an interchange as they may take some of the burden off of Hamilton and Gender Rds.

[GCrites]

For a long time the signal on Hamilton at 33 was so close to the Williams signal that it was a projector light. To me that's usually a sign that lights are very close to each other.

[TempoNick]

For a long time the signal on Hamilton at 33 was so close to the Williams signal that it was a projector light. To me that's usually a sign that lights are very close to each other.

That particular ramp and the Gender ramps going westbound seem curvy and tight. I wonder how they handled that back in the 1960s with cars that didn't handle as well as the cars of today. A lot less traffic, I'm sure.

[vtk]

For a long time the signal on Hamilton at 33 was so close to the Williams signal that it was a projector light. To me that's usually a sign that lights are very close to each other.

That particular ramp and the Gender ramps going westbound seem curvy and tight. I wonder how they handled that back in the 1960s with cars that didn't handle as well as the cars of today. A lot less traffic, I'm sure.

They handled it by going slower, I think.

[GCrites]

For a long time the signal on Hamilton at 33 was so close to the Williams signal that it was a projector light. To me that's usually a sign that lights are very close to each other.

That particular ramp and the Gender ramps going westbound seem curvy and tight. I wonder how they handled that back in the 1960s with cars that didn't handle as well as the cars of today. A lot less traffic, I'm sure.

Less volume in the past is quite often how things were able to still work back then with designs considered outdated today. People were more patient too.

[seicer]

Public meeting planned for proposed US 33 Ohio River crossing on Thursday, April 10, 2025

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) invite the public to a meeting regarding a proposed four-lane US 33 crossing of the Ohio River between Ohio and West Virginia.

The Existing Bridge

The two-lane William S. Ritchie, Jr. Bridge (Ravenswood Bridge) stretches across the Ohio River and connects Ravenswood, West Virginia and Meigs County, Ohio.

The US 33 approach roadway in Ohio is in direct alignment with the bridge. In West Virginia, traffic comes from an Interstate 77 interchange and then travels 2.3 miles on a four-lane roadway to a traffic light-controlled intersection. US 33 traffic then turns and travels 0.4 miles to an intersection with the bridge approach. A quadrant ramp then brings US 33 traffic to the bridge.

The Study

ODOT and consultants are currently studying alternatives to provide a four-lane US 33 crossing of the Ohio River between Ohio and West Virginia. US 33 is the direct route between Columbus, Ohio and Charleston, West Virginia and the southeastern U.S. via the connection with Interstate 77 at Ravenswood. Transport Ohio (Ohio's Freight Plan) places US 33 between Columbus and the Ohio River in the highest category of truck traffic growth (more than 500 additional trucks per day) for 2045.

ODOT is advancing a series of projects on the US 33 corridor between Columbus and the Ohio River to improve safety and efficiency. This includes a project starting in summer 2025 which will convert the last 25.6 miles of two-lane highway to four lanes between Columbus and the Ohio River. This conversion to four lanes is planned for Athens and Meigs Counties and will bring a four-lane highway to the foot of the William S. Ritchie, Jr. Bridge.

ODOT believes providing a four-lane US 33 crossing of the Ohio River between Ohio and West Virginia will improve safety and ensure this corridor is positioned for the future.

The Public Meeting

A public meeting will be held from 4:30-6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 10, 2025 at Ravenswood City Hall, located at 1 Wall Street, Ravenswood, West Virginia.

Additional information can be found on the project page on ODOT's website.

[vtk]

ODOT's weekly news video on YouTube, The Loop, just said that work is to begin on the Pickerington Rd interchange (Fairfield County; last traffic light between I-270 and Lancaster bypass) this season. Also, apparently Renee DeFord (one of the presenters) pronounces "across" with a T at the end.

[carbaugh2]

The news article had a link to the US 33 expansion project. Here is the link to the project page for the Ravenswood Bridge study.

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/120478

[seicer]

I did not realize that truss bridges were much more expensive to construct. Considering all of the recently built or built bridges up and down the Ohio River, we can expect either a cable-stayed or a network-tied arch span. A RIRO intersection with acceleration and deceleration lanes will be fine for Ravenswood.

[wriddle082]

I did not realize that truss bridges were much more expensive to construct. Considering all of the recently built or built bridges up and down the Ohio River, we can expect either a cable-stayed or a network-tied arch span. A RIRO intersection with acceleration and deceleration lanes will be fine for Ravenswood.

I would imagine the steel used to build all of the current Ohio River truss crossings came from steel mills throughout the Ohio Valley from Pittsburgh downstream that no longer exist.  The newest truss bridges over the river were mostly built in the early to mid 90's (and two Kanawha River crossings in the late 90's), with the exception of the replacement 2014 Milton-Madison Bridge.  Most crossings built after that time were cable-stayed, tied arch, or simple steel and/or concrete girder, which seems to coincide with the demise of the availability of steel truss members that could be forged within the valley and transported very cheaply via river barge or rail.

Just a theory, but it makes sense to me.

[seicer]

In the steel industry, only a limited number of mills are capable of producing structural-grade (bridge) steel. American Bridge, which was originally part of USS and is now part of Southland Holdings, is one of the most notable fabricators still in operation today. The decreasing number of fabricators is likely a factor contributing to higher costs. Additionally, the complexity of truss bridge fabrication and construction adds to the expense. Building falsework and scaffolding for a truss bridge is considerably more labor-intensive compared to constructing a bridge with reinforced concrete or erecting a cable-stayed or arch bridge that can be prefabricated off-site and transported by barge.

[carbaugh2]

I did not realize that truss bridges were much more expensive to construct. Considering all of the recently built or built bridges up and down the Ohio River, we can expect either a cable-stayed or a network-tied arch span. A RIRO intersection with acceleration and deceleration lanes will be fine for Ravenswood.

If I'm already spending $280 million for RIROs, then I am spending the extra $10 million for an interchange and only disrupting the lives of the people of Ravenswood once. Even with deceleration lanes, those intersections look ripe for accidents. My guess is that the requirements for the length of the span will dictate the type of bridge used in the project.

[Rothman]

Makes me wonder if federal funding will be applied and what FHWA would say about a RIRO.

Then again, FHWA is losing people left and right now and oversight probably isn't the greatest.

[seicer]

It's not that big of a concern, considering that US 33 in Ohio has multiple intersections. There are several at-grade intersections just to the east of this proposed RIRO/interchange, followed by the expressway's conclusion 1.7 miles past that. It's not designed as a freeway and is posted for 55 MPH.

[Bitmapped]

It's not that big of a concern, considering that US 33 in Ohio has multiple intersections. There are several at-grade intersections just to the east of this proposed RIRO/interchange, followed by the expressway's conclusion 1.7 miles past that. It's not designed as a freeway and is posted for 55 MPH.

This interchange isn't just for access to Ravenswood, it's also for accessing the WV 2 corridor to Point Pleasant and Huntington with an AADT of about 5,000 immediately south of here. (More than the AADT on the US 33 bridge). A RIRO isn't appropriate.

[TempoNick]

It's not that big of a concern, considering that US 33 in Ohio has multiple intersections. There are several at-grade intersections just to the east of this proposed RIRO/interchange, followed by the expressway's conclusion 1.7 miles past that. It's not designed as a freeway and is posted for 55 MPH.

This interchange isn't just for access to Ravenswood, it's also for accessing the WV 2 corridor to Point Pleasant and Huntington with an AADT of about 5,000 immediately south of here. (More than the AADT on the US 33 bridge). A RIRO isn't appropriate.

ODOT never seems to want to do things the right way. It's always the piecemeal approach with them. For a while they were doing a good job along I-71, building wider bridges to accommodate future expansion under Voinovich. But somewhere along the line, someone, maybe the radio DJ, put the kibosh on long-term thinking. Now we've got rule by bureaucrat.

Come to think of it, US 33 being built to be easily four-laned also happened under Voinovich, didn't it? Score another victory for George V. That's the kind of thinking we need more of.

[TempoNick]

A little anti-climactic, but money approved for US 33 widening between I-270 and Canal Winchester.

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/local/2025/04/23/odot-approves-82-million-for-u-s-route-33-widening-in-southeast-franklin-co/83234390007/