US 33 Upgrades in Ohio

[KelleyCook]

Just looking at the satellite photos, it looks like they're going to have to take some land if they want to do a straight shot into WV 2. I hope they do it that way instead of having some convoluted way of running it.

Yes, all three alternatives correct the current weirdness with the two left turns to stay on US-33 EB

https://www.dot.state.oh.us/projects/files/Ravenswood%20Bridge%20Public%20Meeting%20Project%20Information%20Handout%20Completed.pdf

[carbaugh2]

Earlier this week, Governor DeWine, ODOT, and Kokosing Construction held a groundbreaking ceremony for the expansion of US 33. I could not find any video of the ceremony, but here is the link to the press release.

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/about-us/news/district-10/Construction-Begins-on-U.S.-33-Expansion-Project

I was in the Athens area yesterday, and I did not see any signs of construction equipment moving into the Athens to Darwin section. The westbound rest area between Pomeroy and Darwin is very nice, though. I guess it can act as a mini welcome center. Hopefully, the eastbound side will get something closer in scope to it in the future. I realize that it used to be much worse in the not-so-distant past, but it would be nice to see equal treatment down the road.

[GCrites]

That eastbound rest area was one of the few in the state that I have seen where it seems it was converted to modern from primitive without completely tearing down the buildings and starting over again with all new ones.

[GCrites]

Dangerous intersection in Fairfield County to get major upgrade
While construction crews are starting work Monday, drivers won't see major closures or a ton of crews on site right away. Much of the work will be noticeable next summer, with construction set to be completed in 2028.

https://www.10tv.com/article/news/local/10tv-news-this-morning/us-33-pickerington-road-dangerous-interection-upgrades-in-place/530-1722f1eb-f323-4a94-8502-a32e629fee0d

[The Ghostbuster]

How will they build an interchange at this location? The railroad tracks that parallel the south side of US 33 seem too close to the roadway for ramps to be constructed. It looks like either the railroad tracks would have to be realigned, or the roadway would have to be shifted to the north for an interchange to be constructed.

[GCrites]

The roadway will be shifted to the north slightly.

[TempoNick]

How will they build an interchange at this location? The railroad tracks that parallel the south side of US 33 seem too close to the roadway for ramps to be constructed. It looks like either the railroad tracks would have to be realigned, or the roadway would have to be shifted to the north for an interchange to be constructed.

Probably similar to what you see at Diley Road, though I can't say I remember what the plans looked like. Diley Road was also landlocked with the same railroad tracks. And like gcrites said, they will probably have to shift the road a little bit.

[carbaugh2]

Pickerington Rd Interchange Project Page:

https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/77555

[The Ghostbuster]

Are they planning on grade-separating or cul-de-sacing the three at-grade intersections west of Pinkerington Rd., so that US 33 would be completely freeway from there to Interstate 270?

[TempoNick]

Are they planning on grade-separating or cul-de-sacing the three at-grade intersections west of Pinkerington Rd., so that US 33 would be completely freeway from there to Interstate 270?

Almost complete freeway. They're leaving a RIRO at Bixby Road. UGH.

[carbaugh2]

ODOT has published more files related to the US 33 study near Rockbridge in Hocking County. As a refresher, Alternative 10-3 was selected as the preferred alternative in September 2024.

Project Page: https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/115635

It appears the Rockbridge interchange will have roundabouts at the ramp intersections, which follows what District 10 has been doing with most of the interchanges on 33. Based on the March 2025 drawing, mainline 33 will be moved slightly north of the current roadway to allow for the interchange. The rest areas will only need ramp realignments, so not much in the way of new infrastructure there. The timeline file indicates that construction would begin in 2029 at the absolute earliest.

[GCrites]

Dirt is definitely moving at the Pickerington Road intersection. Structures are down and grading is starting for either the bridge or exit from the north side of Pickerington Road.

[Black-Man]

Almost complete freeway. They're leaving a RIRO at Bixby Road. UGH.

RIRO is complete on Rager Road. East side of US33 it was turned into a cul-de-sac. Bixby work has started - left hand turns are not permitted north bound, blocked by barrels.

[The_Ginger]

I've returned from a trip to Athens, Ohio for the OU Jazz Festival. I was able to see both under-construction segments of US 33, the Athens-Darwin (AD) segment and the 5 Points-Ravenswood (5R) segment.

Here's my thoughts and observations.

There are now rock blasting signs across the entire 5 Points-Ravenswood segment. The Athens-Darwin segment doesn't have them anymore.

There is active construction on both segments, and both have barrel cones on the side of the existing lanes that is facing the construction.

All timber has been cleared on both new lane locations.

For the 5R segment, there is no construction driving westbound until about here. Blasting has begun here, and some segments near the SR 733/7 interchange are nearly graded.

The AD segment does have some work done, but that's just heavy machinery tracks across the mountains.

What do you think?

 

[carbaugh2]

Sounds like what I would expect to see from a project with an expected completion date of late 2028. There is a lot of earth to move, especially in the Athens to Darwin section. If you make any more trips to OU later this year (HS Marching Band Day, for example), you should see significant progress on the 681 entrance ramps to 33 and the Pleasanton Rd interchange.

[The_Ginger]

Sounds like what I would expect to see from a project with an expected completion date of late 2028. There is a lot of earth to move, especially in the Athens to Darwin section. If you make any more trips to OU later this year (HS Marching Band Day, for example), you should see significant progress on the 681 entrance ramps to 33 and the Pleasanton Rd interchange.

I actually didn't see much progress on the new interchanges yet on that segment. There was heavy machinery around them, but it didn't look like any real beginnings. I'll be back on that segment of road in July for a trip and will update this thread when I do.

[carbaugh2]

Now that the improvements to the 33/682 interchange near The Plains have been completed, District 10 has announced the timing for closing the Chauncey connector and the nearby Park and Ride.

[Buck87]

The 33 expansion project was featured in the first segment of ODOT's "The Loop" for this week

[The_Ginger]

The 33 expansion project was featured in the first segment of ODOT's "The Loop" for this week.

Neat! That's a cool news program by ODOT. It's a shame WVDOT doesn't have something like that.

[JREwing78]

The 33 expansion project was featured in the first segment of ODOT's "The Loop" for this week.

Neat! That's a cool news program by ODOT. It's a shame WVDOT doesn't have something like that.

It's a quality production. I appreciate the demonstration of the topics they're discussing (the traffic-calming measures in one of the towns).

Michigan's DOT has a weekly podcast, but it's more of a one-on-one interview format on a particular topic. AFAIK, Wisconsin and other DOTs don't have a regular news dissemination program like this.

[The_Ginger]

Michigan's DOT has a weekly podcast, but it's more of a one-on-one interview format on a particular topic. AFAIK, Wisconsin and other DOTs don't have a regular news dissemination program like this.

WVDOT does have a bi-monthly podcast, but after it's revision, they have missed the 2nd January edition, both February ones, and it's not looking good for a 2nd March one.

[GCrites]

They play the ODOT Loop on the Columbus PBS station.

[carbaugh2]

I made a trip to Athens yesterday for some bike riding, so I decided to drive 33 to Pomeroy before heading back home. There is a lot of earth being moved throughout the Athens to Darwin stretch, but it only looks to be about 10-15% complete. Based on the plans, there are quite a few valleys that need to be filled. With a completion date of Fall 2028, this is about what I expected to see.

Work is also progressing on the Pleasanton Road interchange. It looked like forms were still attached to pour concrete for the horizontal portion of the center pier for the overpass, which is being constructed where the left turn lanes used to be. I'm not sure if the pour already took place with it being a Saturday, though, since no one was on site working.