COLUMBUS – Ohioans and out-of-state visitors apparently heeded the advice of state officials who told them to arrive early for this month’s total solar eclipse and stay late.
Data released Tuesday by various state agencies shows traffic volumes were up 12.8% on Sunday, April 7, dropped back on the day of the eclipse and increased again on Tuesday, April 9, by 15.8% on Tuesday, according to figures from the Ohio Department of Transportation Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Ohio Emergency Management Agency.
The traffic surges before and after the eclipse help Ohio avoid monumental traffic jams that had been anticipated and which other states experienced on the day of the April 8 eclipse.
The biggest increase in traffic on Monday came on State Route 31 north of Marysville where traffic was up by 71.7%, US 35 west of Chillicothe with a 67.4% increase in traffic, and SR 14 west of SR 165 to the Pennsylvania border saw a 42.8% increase, ODOT officials reported.
Traffic on US 23 between Chillicothe and Marion was up 11.5% with the biggest jump around Marion where traffic increased by 21.4%.
The state’s interstates also saw increased traffic. On Tuesday, ODOT says the entire I-70 corridor saw an increase in traffic, the biggest bump in the Cambridge area where traffic volumes were up by more than 20%.
“This data shows that Ohioans and visitors did what we asked of them, and it worked to prevent a huge surge of traffic directly following the eclipse. I also commend our crews for their efforts ahead of, during, and after the eclipse. It really paid off,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks.
The information comes from comparing volume from more than 200 continuous traffic count stations across the state to the average traffic volumes observed on Sundays, Mondays, and Tuesdays in April 2023.
Orange barrel crop
“Orange barrel season” is getting underway in Ohio with the state investing $2.8 billion on 950 road and bridge improvement projects this year.
Over $600 million is being spent on the newest phases of the ongoing Downtown Ramp Up Project in Columbus. It is a series of projects to reconstruct Interstates 70/71 in downtown Columbus and alleviate the biggest safety and congestion problems. Roadways will be widened, interchanges dramatically reconfigured and overpasses added or changed.
With a total price tag of $1.4 billion, it is one of the most expensive projects on ODOT’s list. It has been underway since 2022 and is not schedule for total completion until 2020.
Some other major projects underway in central Ohio this summer include $3.6 million in improvements to four interchanges along Refugee Road in Fairfield County, a $15.4 replacement of the Cherry Valley Road bridge in Newark, and the $31 million project to reconstruct the U.S. Route 36/State Route 37 roadway under the infamous “can opener” Norfolk Southern railroad bridge on the east side of Delaware and improvements to the intersection with State Route 521.
This week is also National Work Zone Awareness Week, an annual event to remind motorists to be extra alert in work zones.