A public meeting is set to take place this Thursday, October 21st on proposed improvements along Chillicothe’s Bridge Street Corridor.
The meeting will take place this Thursday from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the Christopher Conference Center. ODOT representatives will be on hand to explain the proposed improvements, answer questions and gather feedback that will assist in the project’s decision-making process.
ODOT District 9 Public Information Officer, Matt McGuire, says the main improvement being looked at along Bridge Street is the easing of traffic congestion.
“Probably the overriding thing we see on North Bridge Street is congestion,” said ODOT District 9 Public Information Officer, Matt McGuire. “It’s a very in-demand thru-way that people are using constantly. During the last traffic count we took, between 40,000 and 45,000 travel that corridor per day, and when you have that many vehicles traveling along the corridor, with that congestion, comes an increase in motor-vehicle crashes.”
McGuire says all that traffic leads to an increased chance for a traffic accident. He says there’s a 1.2 mile stretch along Bridge Street that contains six intersections which are dominate in crash frequency along the corridor, with most crashes either a sideswipe or rear-end crash.
“When we mapped out the entire run of Bridge Street and were looking at where the heaviest concentration of crashes was, there’s basically a curve starting at Stewart where you get to Walmart, and then going up to Pawnee Road.”
McGuire says some of the initial safety improvement proposals include a reassignment of the corridor’s southbound lanes, and the addition of a new northbound lane.
“When we look at these base improvements, we’re looking at adding an additional northbound thru-lane on Bridge Street which increase capacity and help alleviate some of the congestion. We’re also looking at reassigning some of the southbound lanes and changing how traffic utilizes those lanes, because we do see what we call an ‘over-utilization’ of that right-hand lane where you turn in to businesses or get onto US 35. We’re looking at ways to reassign some of those southbound lanes to let traffic better utilize the middle two lanes, so the right lane isn’t so over-taxed.”
All project information presented at the open house meeting will be available online from October 21 until November 21, 2021. Anyone who is unable to or uncomfortable with attending the meeting in person may learn about the project, ask questions, and provide comments by visiting the project website:publicinput.com
When it comes to the actual work, McGuire says right-of-way acquisition for the project will begin in 2022 with utility relocation taking place in 2023. The formal construction would begin sometime during 2024 and would conclude sometime during 2026.
Partial funding for the project has been secured by ODOT, and the City of Chillicothe has secured a grant to assist in construction costs.