City of Columbus Awarded $25 Million Federal Grant for Columbus Crossroads Project
The City of Columbus
will receive $25 million from the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA)
grant program to support Phase 4 of the Columbus Crossroads Project, a $1.3
billion undertaking to replace aging freeways and bridges, alleviate traffic congestion,
reduce safety risks and reconnect neighborhoods at the intersection and overlap
of Interstates 70 and 71 in downtown Columbus.
“I am grateful to our
partners at the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) – as well as Senator
Brown, Senator Portman, Congresswoman Beatty and Congressman Balderson – for helping
to make this federal grant possible," said Mayor Andrew J. Ginther. “Columbus
Crossroads is transforming roadway quality and safety in ways that benefit residents,
visitors and commerce, and I look forward to seeing its impact grow as we make
additional progress and further revitalize infrastructure at the heart of our
city.”
“Rebuilding American
infrastructure will put Ohioans to work on projects like this one,” said U.S.
Senator Sherrod Brown. “We can create jobs building the roads, transit and
broadband systems that will support our 21st-century economy. I look forward to
continuing to work with the Biden-Harris administration to put Ohioans to work
creating an infrastructure system that will be the envy of the world once
again.”
“I am proud to have
worked closely with Senator Brown and Mayor Ginther to help secure $25 million
for Columbus Crossroads,” said U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty. “This
transformational project will help to further revitalize the downtown Columbus
area, spur greater investment in surrounding communities and restore
connections to the Southside. Talk about a win-win for my constituents and our
vibrant economy.”
Phase 4 of the Columbus
Crossroads Project will reconnect downtown with Southside neighborhoods by
expanding and improving three overpass bridges along High, Third and Fourth
Streets. Bridge caps with on-street parking, public art, green space and/or
commercial development will complement the High Street and Third Street bridges.
Other components include reconstructing portions of eastbound and westbound
I-70 and northbound I-71 through the I-70/I-71/SR 315 West interchange, and
adding a through lane for eastbound and westbound traffic in the I-70/I-71
overlap.
The freeways within
the Columbus Crossroads Project are critical to the National Primary Highway
Freight System, and represent 6% of the Columbus freeway network. Within the
Phase 4 project area alone, the I-70/I-71 overlap supports, on average, 145,169
vehicles each day, exceeding intended daily capacity by 50,000 vehicles. In
2015, this location was included among the top 10 freeway crash locations in
the state of Ohio. Planned improvements, once complete, are designed to
eliminate 95% of current eastbound lane changes through enhanced
infrastructure.
The city, ODOT and the
Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission have already invested nearly $648 million
in the project.