Up to 60 residents of Licking and Franklin counties filed through Johnstown Elementary School this week during an open house to provide details and take feedback on proposed changes to Ohio Rts. 161 and 37.
The meeting on Oct. 22 kicked off the start of the public comment period the Ohio Department of Transportation has set for the planned widening of 15 miles of Rt. 161, mostly in Licking County.
Parts of the project include an additional lane in each direction on Rt. 16 from New Albany to Granville, changing the interchange at Mink Street, widening the eastbound exit to Beech Road and installing traffic signals at Rt. 161 ramp intersections.
Project Manager Ty Thompson said that a lot of the comments and questions received so far have been about proposed updates to interchanges, such as the Mink Street interchange. ODOT’s preferred alternative to the Mink Street interchange is a “diverging diamond interchange,” according to the ODOT website.
In central Ohio, there’s one other diamond interchange, at I-270 and Roberts Road in Columbus, which is meant to address safety and congestion issues according to Thompson.
An ODOT fact sheet for the improvements says that the diverging diamond “moves traffic most efficiently through the interchange while minimizing the footprint and property impacts.”
ODOT set up tables with drawings and information sheets to answer questions about the Mink Street updates, and for details about proposed work at Rts. 37, 310 and 161. It also set up a table to answer questions about the environmental impact of the proposed plan.
“With the widening project, ODOT will evaluate any noise mitigation needs, and we’re in the process of completing those studies,” Thompson said.
The noise study will be completed within the next eight to 10 months, the results of which will help inform where ODOT might propose noise walls like those being installed along Rt. 161 in New Albany now, Thompson said.
“For any of the areas where noise mitigation is proposed, there’s follow up public involvement related to that, in regards to aesthetic treatments of a noise wall – or whether the residents even wish to have the noise wall, there’s public involvement activities related to that,” Thompson said. “But that comes after knowing where the noise mitigation is proposed.”
The widening project is slated to begin in 2029, if funding becomes available. Funding for these projects is approved in phases, Thompson said.
“We have to develop the project over a time period before we can go seek right of way phase funding, for example, or construction-phase funding,” Thompson said. Though not uncommon for projects like these, it is difficult to determine when the project will start without knowing when funds may be available. The project is estimated to cost $133.5 million.
Thompson said the project is meant to accommodate traffic that would come with anticipated growth in communities in the Rt. 161 corridor, along with improving safety and efficiency of the roadway.
“That’s really the importance of the project, and we continue to work with our local agencies and local partners to make sure that this project gets coordinated with what the vision is that they have for their area,” Thompson said.
The public comment period will run until Nov. 21. ODOT will compile the comments, and respond to questions and concerns from residents about the project.
To submit a comment, visit https://www.transportation.ohio.gov/projects/projects/117878. Comments can also be called or sent to Ty Thompson at 740-323-5194 or ty.thompson@dot.ohio.gov, or by mail at ODOT District 5, 9600 Jacksontown Road, Jacksontown, Ohio, 43030.
Maddie Luebkert writes for TheReportingProject.org, the nonprofit news organization of Denison University’s Journalism program, which is supported by generous donations from readers. Sign up for The Reporting Project newsletter here.