“The goal is to help us understand how Ohio’s highways influence and support statewide economic growth and prioritize transportation projects, as funding is available,” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said recently. “Ohio’s economy is growing and to keep this momentum going, we must get people to work and deliver goods on time.”
Ohio ranks 6th in the nation in terms of freight volume, with 1.4 billion tons of freight moving to, from, and through the state annually, according to ODOT.
Ohio has in recent years seen major investments from companies like Intel, Amazon, Google, Meta, Honda, PharmaVite, Aunduril Industries, Joby, and many others, each relying on a strong transportation system.
While agency officials say most of Ohio’s major highway corridors are handling these transportation needs adequately, the congestion “hot spots” identified by the study could pose problems in the future as economic development continues and transportation needs increase in turn.
Of the 72 congestion risk locations identified across the state, all but 21 were already on ODOT’s radar, the agency said.
The 51 projects already in the ODOT pipeline represent a total investment of $13 billion. However, $6.1 billion worth of the projects remain unfunded. There is no funding source identified for the other 21 projects the study recommends.
In the Dayton and Cincinnati areas, Interstate 75 currently is experiencing congestion on several segments. In the future, the highest congestion risks are on I-75 near the I-275 interchange north of Cincinnati and from SR 73 north through downtown Dayton.
Two dozen risk locations have been prioritized in this region, just over half of which have improvement projects already in process. This latter category includes:
Greene-Montgomery-Warren counties
- Montgomery County: Widen I-70 to three lanes in each direction from Upper Lewisburg-Salem Road to State Route 48.
- Warren/Montgomery counties: Reconstruct and widen of I-75 to four lanes in each direction between I-675 and Pennyroyal Road.
- Greene: Replace the existing US 35/Valley Road/Trebein Road intersection with a new interchange.
- Greene: Eliminate at-grade intersections at Factory and Shakertown Roads and Orchard Lane by constructing a new interchange between Factory Road and Orchard Lane.
Butler-Clermont-Hamilton counties
- Butler/Hamilton counties: Add a new east-west river crossing on a new alignment.
- Clermont/Hamilton counties: Continuing Eastern Corridor improvements.
- Hamilton County: Construct braided roadway on I-275 from Reed Hartman Highway to I-71.
- Hamilton County: Implement SmartLanes along I-275 from US 42 to State Route 28.
- Hamilton County: Continuing I-75 Mill Creek Expressway improvements.
- Hamilton County: Continuing I-75 Thru the Valley improvements.
- Hamilton County: Continuing I-75 Brent Spence Bridge project improvements.
- Hamilton County: Western Hills Viaduct project.
- Butler/Hamilton counties: Improve the I-75/I-275 interchange and roadway.
- Hamilton/Warren counties: Widen Field Ertel Road from two lanes to five lanes between Snider Road and Wilkens Boulevard.
Prioritized areas with existing and/or potential risks in west-southwest Ohio that have been recommended for future upgrades include:
- Peak period congestion along corridor of US 68 in Urbana/Champaign County.
- Congestion due to signalized intersections and driveways on US 127 in Celina.
- Congestion, reliability, safety, and operational risks in Hamilton/Middletown along I-75, between I-275 and I-70, which are anticipated to intensify as development continues adjacent to corridor and truck traffic continues to grow.
- Widespread existing and future congestion risks on State Route 4, from Hamilton to Franklin Twp., and on State Route 73 connecting to I-75.
- Existing and future peak period congestion on State Route 4, from I-275 to State Route 129.
- Existing severe peak period congestion and future congestion risks on I-71, from State Route 562 to I-275.
- Future congestion risks on I-275 north of the Ohio River and at the US 52 interchange.
- Future congestion risks on I-74, from North Bend Road to Montana Avenue.
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