S.R. 315 NB Lanes Begin To Reopen

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State Route 315 has been a motorist’s nightmare since summer began, but all that is about to change.

Drivers have been dodging road-construction crews and orange barrels and maneuvering around ramp closures since Monday, June 15.

NBC 4 got answers on when Phase 1 would be finished and normal travel on the popular route would be restored.

S.R. 315 CONSTRUCTION RESOURCES
Click here to see ODOT’s project plan.
Click here for information and updates from ODOT.

Here’s the breakdown of how lanes and ramps will be restored.

Starting at 8 p.m. Friday, one lane of traffic on the northbound side will be restored while the southbound lanes will remain the same.

At 5 a.m. Saturday, a second northbound lane will be opened along with the northbound entrance ramps at Goodale Boulevard, Olentangy River Road and Lane Avenue.

Northbound exit ramps at Medical Center Drive and Ackerman Road also will be opened.

The Medical Center Drive exit will be closed Saturday since it’s an OSU football game day.

The southbound entrance ramps at Olentangy River Road, North Broadway, Ackerman Road, Lane Avenue and 12th Avenue will remain closed until all lanes of traffic are restored, which is scheduled for no later than 5 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 3.

All southbound exit ramps will be open Monday.

The ramp from I-670 eastbound to S.R. 315 northbound will remain closed until all three lanes of northbound traffic are open, which is expected to happen around the middle part of next week.

Lane restrictions will continue until all lanes and ramps are restored.

Phase 1 was set to be complete for the year by Saturday, Oct. 3, at a cost of $11 million.

ODOT has $13 million to complete Phase 2, which involves construction on the southbound lanes.

That phase was to begin in mid-June 2010 and was expected to last 80 days.

How was the construction completed two weeks early? Officials said good weather combined with an aggressive construction schedule.

The pavement on the northbound lanes is not the final pavement, ODOT said. ODOT said it will wait until the end of Phase 2 to put down a final layer.

The three-mile stretch between I-670 and Ackerman still will be considered a construction zone until all lanes are restored and all ramps are reopened.

Police will continue to enforce the reduced speed limit.

Plenty of drivers were pulled over for speeding during the construction along S.R. 315.

Columbus police nabbed speeders going over the 45-mile-per-hour speed limit.

CPD released the number of tickets issued during Phase 1 Monday.

Authorities wrote 2,594 tickets during the 14-week period.

The highest number of speeders was caught the first week with 340 tickets.

Only 87 drivers were cited last week.

CPD said most of the drivers were going over 10 to 20 miles over the speed limit. The fines were between $120 to $235.

For additional information, stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com -- Where Accuracy Matters.
To submit a story idea or news tip, e-mail stories@nbc4i.com.
MORE: NBC 4 Local News | Local Crime News
NBC 4 SPORTS: Sports News, Video
NBC 4 POLITICS: Headlines, Interactives & Video