COLUMBUS, Ohio – Big numbers of Ohio travelers are expected to leave home over the long Memorial Day weekend, spurred by more disposable income and lower gas prices than in recent years.
Click here for a list of holiday events in central Ohio.
But, heavy traffic combined with widespread highway construction could slow them down.
The AAA projects nearly 1.44 million Ohioans will travel this weekend, with 1.3 million going by automobile. Both numbers are some 5 percent higher than last year’s.
The auto club estimates gas prices statewide are approximately $1 per gallon cheaper than last Memorial Day.
The Ohio Department of Transportation, however, says those motorists will have to contend with nearly 1,000 highway construction zones around the state.
Among those closest to Columbus:
W. Broad Street: Two lanes of traffic are being maintained in each direction from I-270 to Norton Rd. Traffic is reduced to one lane in each direction from Norton Rd. to Hilliard-Rome Rd. for a widening project.
I-270/U.S. Route 23 (North Side Fix): Work continues to widen U.S. 23 from four to six lanes from I-270 to Lazelle Rd., construct U.S. 23 northbound “trench” from north of I-270 to south of Northwoods Blvd. and reconfigure the ramps at I-270/U.S. 23
U.S. Route 22, Fairfield County: Closed near Rushville over Little Rush Creek. The previous bridge was demolished and construction of a new bridge has begun. Motorists will detour via SR 664 to SR 37 and back to U.S. 22.
Law enforcement agencies, including the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the members of the Franklin County DUI Task Force will be extra-vigilant, watching for impaired drivers and enforcing seat belt laws.
Between 2009 and 2013, the Memorial Day weekend had the highest number of serious injuries and the third-highest number of fatalities of all major holidays on Ohio roads between 2009-2013, according to figures released Thursday by ODOT. The agency says, during the 2014 holiday, 13 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, of which 54 percent were OVI related.
The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office says traffic accidents claimed almost three lives per killed day in 2014, which amounts to one person killed every 8.7 hours.