ODOT provides plan for work on US Route 23

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Transportation released its action plan for improving congested parts of U.S. Route 23.

The stretch is 23 miles between Interstate 270 and the town of Waldo. Right now, it’s 30% over capacity, causing crashes and congestion.

The plan outlines more than 30 individual projects for improving traffic, safety and commute time, estimating a total of $1.6 billion.

One of the recommendations in the plan is to eliminate more than 30 traffic lights along the route.

It also includes making changes to the intersection of U.S. Route 23 and Coover Road. ODOT recommends taking out the traffic light and eliminating left turns.

ODOT Public Information Officer Matthew McGuire said the median barrier eliminates the possibility of head-on crashes.
It may be good news for busy drivers but not so great for nearby businesses.

“There’s not a lot of places to turn around, especially if you are going northbound. So it deters and they don’t want to come in or you have people making U-turns in people’s driveways and things like that,” said Jessica Ladd, HR manager for Emergency Plumbing Heating & Air in Delaware County.

For some drivers, they understand how businesses may feel but are looking forward to less congestion.

“I would say it’s probably a better idea to keep traffic moving and people not stopping and waiting,” said Delaware County driver Mike Cromleigh.

ODOT says public meetings coming this spring will give the community the opportunity to voice their concerns as these projects are estimated to take time to complete and happen in multiple phases.