COLUMBUS, Ohio – Drivers in northern Franklin County and southern Delaware County will find their morning and afternoon commutes seriously disrupted, starting Monday, when two major road-construction projects.
State route 315 in Delaware County will close between Retreat Lane and Jewett Road at 5:00 a.m. on Monday for two months so crews can construct turn lanes on the major north-south route between Delaware and Columbus, Ohio Department of spokeswoman Nancy Burton said.
Meanwhile, a three-year project gets underway to reconfigure ramps at the I-270/U.S. route 23 interchange and add travel lanes in both directions on 23 to improve safety and enhance capacity, Burton said.
This year, ODOT is adding left turn lanes on north- and southbound 315 to improve safety and relieve congestion at the southern Delaware County intersection, which handles an estimated 13,000 vehicles per day, Burton said.
Next year, left turn lanes will be added in both directions on 750 (Powell Road), which will be closed west of 315 for 45 days during construction, Burton said.
Powell Road (SR 750) will remain open when 315 is closed, and 315 will remain open next year when 750 is closed.
Powell Road will remain open through the intersection this year, but turns onto 315 will not be allowed, Burton says.
Burton also says motorists should look for alternate routes because they will not be able to access 750 from 315 if they miss the detour signs.
The posted detour for motorists using 315:
Northbound: Exit I-270 east to US 23 north to SR 315.
Southbound: Use U.S. 23 south to I-270 west to SR 315.
Access will be provided to the small number of property owners who live between the barricades on 315 and the actual construction work.
Burton says one of the reasons the left turn lanes are being added now is to make sure it can handle the added capacity during later construction phases of the I-270/23 project. When two express lanes for northbound U.S. 23 are built next year, 315 and 750 will be an alternate route.
The project contractor, Complete General Construction, has been offered an incentive and disincentive for the project, a common practice when contractors are hired to complete work on heavily-traveled routes where early completion is desirable, Burton said.
For every day beyond November 16 that SR 315 is not open, the contractor will be fined $4,000 a day and will get a bonus of $4,000 per day – up to $60,000 – is the project is completed ahead of schedule, Burton said.