U Weekly. Serving The Ohio State University in Columbus Ohio

Making construction fun

SR-315 is only the beginning

By Kate Liebers

Orange is the new scarlet and grey this season, as The Ohio State University students move out and the construction teams move in. As of last week, renovations on State Route 315 have drivers steering through detours. Between the continuing High Street construction and the upcoming expansion of the Medical Center, it may be a slow-moving summer for many motorists.

Fortunately, Brutus is here to save the day.

Sporting an orange and yellow construction vest over his red and gray sweatshirt, the smiling buckeye mascot pumps up the potentially screwed drivers before they charge blindly into SR-315 construction.

"Beat the barrel! Beat, beat, the barrel!" he chants on the Ohio Department of Transportation's SR-315 Project Information webpage. In more silent PDF format, Brutus presents the "315 Playbook," highlighting the highway action.

On Sunday, June 14, the detour signs were uncovered; the next day, ramps began closing.

The project consists of bridge and resurfacing work, according to ODOT spokesperson Brian Hedge. Hedge emphasized that SR-315 itself will remain open, as well as certain ramps, despite the ramp closures. On Monday, June 15, southbound entrance ramps on North Broadway, Ackerman Road, Lane Avenue, and 12th Avenue were closed; on the north end, I-670 east and Goodale Boulevard were blocked off. On Olentangy River Road, entrance ramps going north and south were both barreled up.

Other ramps were temporarily restricted throughout the week, and SR-315 was reduced to one lane in some areas. By the following Monday, June 22, ODOT primed drivers going either direction on SR-315 to mesh into the southbound side; two lanes were prepared for both north and southbound traffic from Interstate 670 through Ackerman Road exit.

"So far it's been pretty good," said Hedge, of the traffic. "We tried to get the word out early. People are finding alternate routes."

Those who did not heed Construction Brutus's advice, however, battled gridlock.

"The Ackerman exit is all backed up because people can't find places to get off," said recent OSU graduate Andy Miller. Miller, who lives near campus, takes SR-315 N to work in Dublin. He said the detoured route has tacked on about 15 minutes to his typical transit, which he considers "nothing serious."

For Miller, road rage was replaced by mild befuddlement.

"I don't know why it is happening," Miller said. "It's not like there were a lot of potholes or anything in the roads I've taken. It seems like a lot of work being doing for a relatively small problem."

Regardless, Miller supported choosing the summer season to complete the maintenance work when fewer students are on campus.

ODOT allotted a 120-day time frame for the SR-315 work, according to Hedge, implying a mid-October completion date for this summer.

Consequently, students moving in for fall classes will have to accommodate the restricted exits, as will Buckeye fans planning on attending the first half of the football season. Additionally, High Street is still halved north of Lane Avenue and is not to be completed until late 2009.

"It would have been smart to finish one job before starting another," said Miller.

However, the work on SR-315 and High street are completely different projects, according to Libby Eckhardt, director of marketing and communications at OSU's Facilities Operations and Development. The High Street construction is operated by the city, Eckhardt said, while SR-315 is controlled by the state.

Nevertheless, OSU has been in coordination with ODOT, and the SR-315 construction began after Spring Commencement, June 14.

For those sticking around campus, the SR-315 and continuing High Street construction represent only a portion of all the summer construction projects of 2009.

According to OSU press release, the Tuttle Park Place and College Road projects will impact traffic throughout the summer. Continuing projects include the Student Academic Services Building and the Lane Avenue Parking Garage. But above all, according to Jim Lynch, director of media relations at OSU, will be the Medical Center project.

"The university is embarking on its largest construction project," said Lynch of the Medical Center renovation and expansion. The project's progress during the summer is to translate into lane restrictions along Cannon Drive and 12th Avenue.

Besides an evolving Medical Center, other major campus projects have included the Ohio Union, which has been closed since 2007, and the renovated Thomson Library, which is to open in August.

"I'm kind of disappointed. I never had a student union," said Miller, who spent two years on OSU's campus completing his master's degree in social work.

Yet others taste potential when breathing in the dust from the construction trucks.

"To have a student union that is state of the art and a library that will be second to none, that can be very appealing to high-school students coming to campus," Lynch said. "We are working hard to become a top 10 university."

Lynch said students and families coming for orientation will be directed to exit SR-315 at Lane Avenue, and they will be given directions to get back on after they've arrived.

Originally Published: June 24, 2009

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