DELAWARE, Ohio (WSYX) — Neighbors hated the plan the last time around, but state lawmakers want ODOT engineers to take another look at a possible bypass through rural areas to help get traffic off of busy US 23 between Worthington and Waldo.
Lawmakers added $500,000 to the transportation budget and directed engineers to study a bypass through Delaware and Morrow Counties.
The study directs engineers to look at expanding State Route 229 in Delaware County; creating a new freeway somewhere in Delaware County; or creating a new highway between Waldo and Marengo that would follow State Route 529.
That could bring highways through or near the communities of Ashley and Cardington, getting drivers from US 23 to I-71 well north of Delaware and avoiding the 23-mile stretch between Waldo and Worthington, which has 39 traffic signals and is 30-percent over capacity.
“I don’t see how it would work,” said Matt Meyers, who works at a hardware store in Cardington along State Route 529.
“You’re talking a lot of traffic that would come from 23 to try to get onto 71,” he said. “And I don’t know how any of this area is even equipped for that.” – Matt Meyers
Earlier this year, ODOT introduced a plan to get rid of most of the traffic signals, slashing the lights down to as few as seven, by re-engineering intersections to make traffic move more quickly. That could cost billions and is still in the planning stage.
A plan for a bypass in Delaware and Union Counties in 2021 was unpopular and declared not feasible by ODOT in 2022. Meyers said he would expect the same reaction to this plan.
“Delaware County was obviously against it,” he said. “I’m sure if you talk to the majority of Morrow Countians, they would be against it.”
In Ashley, village leaders said their community is already being used as a bypass, with semis using State Route 229 to cut through.
“It’s always been a shortcut between 23 and 71, but the volume of truck traffic has increased dramatically in the last several years,” said David Lockhart, the mayor.
A bypass is intended to relieve the pressure of continued growth, but there’s a worry that more freeways and access would simply encourage growth.
Lockhart isn’t worried.
“Done right, I think it could be a plus for the village,” he said. “We know growth is coming. My approach is to get ready for that growth.”
The study by ODOT is expected to be completed by October 1.
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