The gateway to Pickerington’s busiest commercial corridor will undergo a historic facelift, beginning in 2015, to ease congestion and provide safe and easy access to and from the Violet City.
Each day, more than 30,000 vehicles travel state Rt. 256.
The first major roadway improvement, which is primarily funded by a $6 million Ohio Department of Transportation safety grant, will focus on Rt. 256 from the I-70 interchange south to the Kroger/Giant Eagle traffic signal at Refugee Road.
As part of the safety project, a third southbound lane from the Hunter’s Run/Marcus Cinema intersection to the Kroger/Giant Eagle signal will be created using a part of the existing gutters and by slightly narrowing the existing lanes.
Other significant roadway improvements include a new southbound left turn lane at the Hunter’s Run/Marcus Cinema intersection; a dedicated southbound right turn lane at the intersection of Refugee Road; a third northbound lane to the state Rt. 204/Tussing Road approach; and a fourth northbound lane to the approach of the I-70 eastbound entrance ramp.
To accentuate the Rt. 256 roadway and help ease traffic flow, raised landscaped medians and curb ramps will be installed and eight traffic signals, larger street name signage and pavement markings will be updated.
The second major roadway project, which is in the design phase, will transform Refugee Road into a more accessible corridor to ease traffic flow heading to Columbus and to the OhioHealth Medical Campus that is currently under construction.
A total of $4 million in development revenues from the OhioHealth tax increment financing (TIF) district is expected to be the main source of funding for this project, which is slated to begin in 2016.
City Engineer Scott Tourville said that though the facelifts on Rt. 256 and Refugee cannot completely eliminate congestion challenges going toward I-70 and westward to Columbus, they will significantly improve the traffic flow within the City.
“While they won’t eliminate traffic problems altogether, they will help provide better access to residential properties and businesses alike,” Tourville said. “These changes should provide roadway capacity to handle the anticipated growth in the area for decades to come.”
A third roadway project that is in the planning stage would help to solve a very confusing intersection geometry involving Center Road, Milnor Road and Meadows Boulevard.
Several different design configurations are being considered to improve the functionality of the roadways and provide the capacity needed to serve the expected growth over the next several decades.
In early 2014, these designs will be presented to residents to get input from the community. Half a million dollars in ODOT safety grant funding is allowing Pickerington to move forward with these overdue intersection improvements.
In 2013, Tourville, Pickerington’s new City Engineer of seven months, was able to get an additional $200,000 in supplementary grant funds, which can be used in support of the City’s necessary matching funds.
