$3 billion means construction ramp-up

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Get ready for a bumper crop of orange barrels.

Central Ohio’s biggest road construction projects will ramp up again next year.

The Ohio Department of Transportation says plans to use $3 billion in Ohio Turnpike toll revenue on transportation projects statewide will mean construction can begin on the section of the I-70/71 interchange currently not under construction, putting the Columbus Crossings project near downtown back on schedule for completion by 2017.

Work at the I-270 and U.S. route 23 Interchange north of the city, and I-270 and U.S. 33 in Dublin will begin this summer.

A lack of funding had pushed those projects back by a decade or more.