The Ohio State University

onCampus

• Help
• Buckeye Link
• Map
• Find People
• Webmail
• Search

  Search Ohio State Go

Road work on 315 will challenge campus drivers

Posted on | June 9, 2009 | 2,678 views |

See ODOT map with ramp closures here

by Adam King

Getting to campus via state Route 315 is going to be trickier this summer and well into fall. Bridge and repaving work being done will close the northbound lanes starting in June from Interstate 670 through the Ackerman Road exit.

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is working closely with Ohio State to make the closure, which will begin after Spring Commencement June 14, as seamless as possible and to make sure students, staff, faculty and visitors have the most up-to-date information regularly.

But adjustments to travel patterns and patience will need to be high on commuters’ agenda. The 315 southbound side will be split into two, allowing travel in both directions, but the northbound exit ramps to Ackerman Road and Medical Center Drive will be closed. All the southbound exits will be open, however.

“We’re trying to make sure the impact is minimal and there are ways to get around,” said Nancy Burton, ODOT’s public information officer. “Buckeye fans are resilient and they’ll get to the football games. But it’s the person not familiar with 315 who lives in an outlying county in Ohio who we’re most concerned about. 

“But we’re not shutting the interstate down. We’re not cutting anybody’s access off. The more people prepare, the less problematic it will be.”

Since the construction project has a completion date of Nov. 1, some heavy-traffic events will be affected, including the Taylor Swift concert in July, fall student move-in and the Sept. 12 Ohio State-Southern Cal football game (as well as four other home games). Then there are emergency route concerns about getting into the Medical Center as well as the OSU Veterinary Hospital.

Bill Mifsud, administrative director of project management at the Medical Center, said the hospital district is used to altering its operations based on changing traffic patterns or weather-related concerns, so the Medical Center is ahead of the game.

“We’re creating 20-plus maps we can distribute to our clientele,” Mifsud said. “If a patient schedules a procedure five months from now, the map he or she receives will indicate the traffic route and where to park. Those maps are ready and all our business units will have them. Reminder letters that we send out will have the most recent maps and information.”

The Medical Center also is collaborating with OSU Transportation and Parking to hand out maps as people leave the pay garages. The maps will direct travelers to the best departure options.

“We want to make it as stress-free as possible,” Mifsud said. “We know there will be hiccups. That’s why we have committees that will meet frequently to see what we missed and how we can improve it.”

OSU Transportation and Parking is looking into increasing park and rides during game days to mitigate on-campus traffic. Potential locations include the Franklin County Fairgrounds and downtown.

Some on-campus construction will be happening at the same time as the 315 project, including a steamline project that will keep access to central campus via Tuttle Park Place unavailable throughout the summer. Chilled water line installation on College Road between 17th and 19th avenues will impede traffic as will infrastructure work on Cannon Drive between Medical Center Drive and 12th Avenue.

“Allow plenty of commute time because under these circumstances, we anticipate traffic delays to be longer than normal, especially on game days,” said Transportation and Parking Director Sarah Blouch.

And OSU regulars and visitors will get to do it all again in 2010 when ODOT does the southbound side of 315.

Comments