COLUMBUS, Ohio – The final phase of a multi-million-dollar project to improve the Hard/Sawmill road area on the Northwest Side will begin Monday and is scheduled to continue for more than 15 months.
The $16.5 million phase of the project will widen 1.2 miles of Hard Road from two lanes to five lanes between Sawmill Road and Smoky Row Road.
The widening of Hard Road will include the addition of curbs, sidewalks, and bike lanes on both sides of the road and a traffic signal at the intersection of Hard Road and Foxboro Lane at the Northwest Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
Improvements to the intersection of Hard Road and Sawmill Road include street widening to accommodate:
Dual left turn lanes to dual through lanes on three legs of the intersection: From northbound Sawmill Road onto westbound Hard Road; from southbound Sawmill Road onto eastbound Hard Road; and from westbound Hard Road onto southbound Sawmill Road.
Dedicated right-turn-only lanes on from northbound Sawmill Road to eastbound Hard Road, southbound Sawmill Road to westbound Hard Road, and westbound Hard Road to northbound Sawmill Road.
Other improvements include upgraded traffic signals on mast arms; new street lights, storm sewers, water lines and landscaping
The project will increase safety for pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists, and accommodate residential and business growth in the area, said Rick Tilton, spokesman for the Columbus Department of Public Safety.
Two-way traffic in two lanes will be maintained during construction, which is scheduled for completion in October 2016, weather permitting.
The project is being paid for with by $10 million in federal fund, administered by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission; $2.7 million from the City of Dublin; $2 million from the City of Columbus and $1.8 million from the Ohio Public Works Commission, Tilton said.
The previous two phases of the project included the $10.7 million reconstruction and widening of Hard Road from two to five lanes, including a center turn lane, between Smoky Row Road and Linworth Road, completed in the fall of 2005; and a similar $10 million upgrade to the roadway between State Route 315 and Linworth Road and to the section of Olentangy River Road connecting Hard Road and 315, completed in 2010.