The latest Ohio transportation budget — contained in the recently passed House Bill 62 — has guaranteed that three projects in the central region of the state are saved from cancellation.
Gov. Mike DeWine made the announcement, securing the future of the Columbus Crossroads project. That project has three future phases left to it, which will result in the reconfiguration of the I-70/I-71 interchange running through downtown Columbus, Ohio.
“This interchange was built in the 1960s, and Columbus has long outgrown it,” DeWine said. “Right now, drivers are traveling on a highway system that wasn’t built to handle the number of cars that travel in and out of Columbus today. Now that these three phases of the Columbus Crossroads project will proceed as planned, we can look forward to a safer interchange in the future.”
The project includes a $43.8 million reconstruction and widening of I-71 expected to take a year. Additional efforts will take place on I-70 eastbound and I-71 northbound, costing another $103.6 million, with a notable start date of around two years from now. They will replace the Front Street Bridge and create a new ramp for access between eastbound and the city’s downtown. Other reconstruction efforts will be pursued on I-70 westbound and I-71 southbound, focusing on new ramp constructions under a $107.2 million price tag. That final project is expected to begin in around three years.
“Without the funding provided in House Bill 62, these phases could have been delayed for years or permanently put on hold,” Jack Marchbanks, Ohio Department of Transportation Director, said. “These next three phases are essential pieces of the puzzle and will make a meaningful reduction in traffic crashes through this notoriously congested stretch of interstate.”
The new budget grants more than $800 million per year of additional funds for such maintenance projects and road safety upgrades statewide. Thanks to the addition, the Columbus Crossroads project began its next phase this week.