By the numbers
$53 million — Overall cost of project, including design, acquisition of right of way and construction
$49 million — Cost of construction
$1.1 million — Cost of acquisition of right of way
Staying with the story
The Springfield News-Sun has reported on the efforts to expand I-70 in Clark County for more than three years, including stories digging into crashes along the stretch and traffic volumes.
A $53 million construction project to widen the remaining portion of Interstate 70 in Clark County may be funded in fiscal year 2020.
The project — to add a third lane in both directions on I-70 from U.S. 68 to Ohio 72 — had once been delayed until 2036.
The state’s Transportation Review Advisory Council on Thursday announced a draft list of its major construction projects that will be paid for with more than $2 billion in transportation funding.
The 3.4-mile stretch is the only section for about 85 miles along I-70 that has two lanes. The stretch of road runs from the north side of Dayton to the east side of Columbus.
The local project moved up on the state’s priority list and is now among the top 37 transportation projects.
Local leaders and Ohio Department of Transportation District 7 officials have been seeking money for the projects for years and are pleased the construction may accelerated.
“We want to stress the importance of this project, not only to our community, but to the region and to the state. We feel the addition of the third lane will alleviate traffic safety concerns, as well as add to the economic development potential for this area,” Springfield Planning and Zoning Administrator Bryan Heck said.
Crews began in late March expanding the highway from Enon Road to U.S. 68 to three lanes. That $17.5 million project is expected to be completed in November 2015.
Officials applied for money for another phase of the project, which includes adding a lane in the east and westbound lanes from U.S. 68 to Ohio 72, redoing the existing four lanes and replacing six bridges.
The TRAC approved the construction and right of way acquisition for the next phase on Thursday. Melissa Ayers, a spokeswoman for ODOT, said the TRAC board will accept comments from the public until Jan. 20 and then approve a final list of the major statewide projects.
Typically the list remains unchanged, she said, unless there are numerous comments in favor or against a project.
“It is a process that we do have to follow and there is still room until they do take that final vote,” Ayers said.
The overall cost of the project by 2020, including construction, acquisition of right of way and design, will be $53 million, said Matt Parrill, planning and engineering administrator for the ODOT District 7.
The design phase is nearly completed, he said, and estimated construction alone will cost $49 million.
TRAC’s draft list doesn’t guarantee the project will remain a top priority, but Parrill and others said they were “cautiously optimistic” that it will.
“It’s really good news,” Parrill said.
The I-70 widening project’s inclusion on the Tier 1 list is significant, Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee Director Scott Schmid said.
“Just being on that list is a huge accomplishment if it stays there,” Schmid said.
Traffic along that stretch of I-70 is currently between 55,000 to 70,000 vehicles daily, exceeding previous traffic volume projections for the year 2025, Schmid said.
Clark County Commissioner Rick Lohnes said it makes sense for state officials to pay for the widening of the remaining portion of I-70 to eliminate congestion and improve safety for motorists.
“This little (3.4-mile) bottleneck will be resolved and that’s good for safety and traffic. It’s good for the community,” Lohnes said.
Clark County Commissioner John Detrick said he’s thankful the stretch, which he called a “death trap,” will be widened and is optimistic construction could begin prior to 2020.
“It’s definitely needed,” Detrick said. “This is one of the most critical areas to do that widening.”
State Rep. Ross McGregor, R-Springfield, said he expects construction to lead to a boon in economic development in Clark County.
“With Prime Ohio II (industrial park) in essence ready to bring in new job creators and having I-70 widened to three lanes all the way in essence from the western border of the state is going to be a huge benefit of the state for job creation and Prime Ohio II ought to be a huge beneficiary of that,” McGregor said.
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