COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- A main corridor through the Far East Side will be widened and upgraded through a $25 million project approved Monday night by city leaders.
An approximately one-mile stretch of East Broad Street from Interstate 270 to Outerbelt Street sees about 65,000 vehicles per day, according to the Department of Public Service, and over the next two decades, it's expected to increase to nearly 70,000.
Columbus City Council approved a $25.5 million agreement with Complete General Construction to widen the section. It's the first in a two-phase project that will eventually extend to Reynoldsburg-New Albany Road. New travel lanes, turn lanes and medians are all part of this phase.
In addition to widening East Broad, several more changes are designed to address heavy traffic, reduce crashes and allow safer travel for bikers and pedestrians. Those include:
The traffic changes will go along with the city's "Vision Zero" plan. Introduced in 2021, the plan aims to get Columbus to zero serious and fatal crashes by 2035.
"We're doing this project for safety purposes," said Kelly Scocco, interim director for the Department of Public Service. "This is along our high injury network."
Councilmember Lourdes Barroso de Padilla said the funding will be drawn from a combination of city, state and federal dollars, and that the changes will be worth it despite the inconvenience the construction may cause.
"It's a little bit of a sacrifice for a much longer term, a better experience and a safer experience for all," Barroso de Padilla said.
The project has been in development for five years, and this phase is expected to start in the coming weeks and take about 18 months to complete. The second phase, from Outerbelt Street to Reynoldsburg-New Albany Road, is expected to start in 2026.
