Life is a Highway

Major highway construction: past, present and future

The Violet Township and Pickerington region is constantly growing and evolving. One of the main drivers of growth has been highway construction and expansion, which continues to this day.

While the benefits of this expansion are endless, when population growth outpaces infrastructure change, congestion can become a problem. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) plans to address this issue at the signalized intersection at U.S. Route 33 and Pickerington Road with an interchange facility. The intersection has experienced significant delays and congestion during peak travel times.

“The a.m. and p.m. peak periods experience significant delays and congestion during these time periods,” Morgan Overbey, ODOT public information officer, says in an email. “As a result of the congested conditions, the crashes experienced at the intersection have also increased.”

According to Overbey, the U.S. Route 33 corridor has experienced significant traffic volume growth in the past 15-20 years.The preliminary design will be complete in December 2023. Then, ODOT will begin right-of-way acquisition in January 2024 to be complete between winter 2024 and spring 2025. The final design is slated for completion in spring or summer 2025. Construction will begin in summer 2025 and end in fall 2027, according to the ODOT timeline.

The construction will affect the residents of Violet Township and Pickerington, yet this is far from the first time major roadwork and highways have had an impact on daily life in our region.

Past

Gary Taylor, a fourth-generation citizen of Pickerington, has watched the growing highway system change the Violet Township and Pickerington landscape. He’s lived in Pickerington his whole life except for the four years the 1959 grad attended The Ohio State University.

Before Interstate 70 was completed in 1968, state Route 256 was the main road from Olde Pickerington Village into downtown Columbus. The commute wasn’t smooth and influenced at least one newcomer’s decision to live in Pickerington, according to Taylor.

Taylor’s grandfather and uncle were the two general practice doctors in the area. When they recruited the first doctor outside of the family to Pickering - ton, the roads were a major factor in the decision to move.

“He made the statement he wasn’t sure that he wanted to really move here because the main road to get into Pickerington was very crooked and very much up and down,” he says. “But he did take to it real well and he spent the rest of his medical life living in Pickerington.”

The completion of Interstate 70 led to a boom in the area. In 1970, the population was just under 1,000. By 1980, the village grew to 3,917 people and on April 20, 1991, it became a city after surpassing 5,000 residents.

“The biggest change from a street standpoint that hit Violet Township and Pickerington was Interstate 70 coming through,” Taylor says. “When that happened that really made a change in the area because we could go anywhere in central Ohio much quicker.”

Now the growing population of the city and township requires more help to keep the roads running smoothly.

“Us as older people that lived here, as we watched more and more coming to the area, we always had typical saying, ‘when somebody new comes in the area, they want to close the door behind them so that it won’t get more crowded,’” Taylor says.

Present

In addition to Interstate 70, other highway projects that have been impactful to the community include expanding U.S. Route 33, Hill Road North and Diley Road, as well as making U.S. Route 33 limited access, according to PickeringtonViolet Township Historical Society president Peggy Portier.

According to Overbey, past projects and current efforts are intended to convert the U.S. Route 33 corridor between I-270 and the Lancaster Bypass to a facility without at-grade intersections. This means that an elevation change must be constructed so motorists’ perpendicular paths don’t cross.

New projects help with the speed of traffic to accommodate the increasing population. Other improvements to sidewalks, multi-use paths and utility upgrades are often made at the same time, says Portier. But there are, of course, downsides.

“People are never happy about having to deal with the construction as it is happening,” Portier says. “No one likes the orange barrels, detours and one-lane traffic.”

Tensions in the area rise further when property is claimed through eminent domain. Though residents are paid market price for the claimed property and it’s neces- sary to get certain projects done, no property owner is overjoyed when it happens.

Road expansion may increase traffic in areas where residents don’t want it, says Portier.

Future

Expanding infrastructure is necessary to accommodate the growing population and keep roads as safe as possible; it has its benefits and drawbacks for Pickerington’s future, says Portier.

“I think that there will be some residents who will be hurt and some that will benefit,” she says. “If they are well planned, I think they can be a net benefit and improve the community for residents by providing better access for cars and active transportation options for everyone.”

Portier emphasizes the need for better active transportation options, for pedestrians and bicycles, in the city.

“We may have sidewalks inside a subdivision, but you can’t get to the grocery store because there is no sidewalk or bike path on the main road,” she says. “I used to ride my bike on shopping errands north of I-70, but you really can’t do that safely now.”

Claire Miller is an editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at cmiller@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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