COLUMBUS, Ohio — If you're a downtown commuter, some big changes are coming to your route. The ramp from state Route 315 southbound to Interstate 70 eastbound will close this weekend and will stay closed for the foreseeable future.
The ramp will shut down at 11 p.m. Sunday and will remain closed for the next four to five years at the least.
Officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation say the stretch of I-70 through downtown Columbus regularly sees more than 150,000 vehicles daily, which it is not built to handle.
"Rebuilding a major interstate on both sides is going to take around four to five years. When [I-70 and I-71] were originally constructed back in the 1950 and 1960s, the traffic volumes they were built to handle they have now exceeded," said ODOT Public Information Officer Matt McGuire.
Once the project is done, I-70 will be much wider through the downtown area, making the merge from SR-315 smoother.
In the meantime, drivers will have to use I-670 East to I-71 South to get back onto I-70 for the next few years.
This could lead to congestion at the I-670/I-71 split, which is already a busy area to begin with. All drivers are encouraged to plan accordingly, especially within the first few weeks of the closure.
"if you're going to be coming downtown via SR-315, give yourself a few extra minutes. Make sure you're allowing that extra time in your commute to get where you need to go because you are going to have to cut across 670 to get to 71 South" said McGuire.
While the ramp from SR-315 southbound will remain closed, eastbound traffic on I-70 will be maintained temporarily on a newly constructed ramp. As of right now, there are no other major long-term closures expected in the downtown area.