ODOT to begin widening of State Route 161 as it prepares for Intel, other growth

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Crews are scheduled to begin construction on State Route 161 in July, widening the east-west highway as Ohio prepares for Intel’s eventual semiconductor manufacturing plant and other growth east of Columbus.

The project is estimated to cost $112 million total, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, with construction in eastern Franklin County and western Licking County -- running from where SR161 intersects with Interstate 270 to where it intersects with U.S. 62. 

SR161 will get a new lane in each direction, as well as wider bridges, according to ODOT. Crews for the agency will also widen the I-270 entrance on SR161. The new lanes should be ready by November 2024, ODOT said, with the project scheduled to be fully finished in August 2025. 

During the duration of the project, ODOT said in a project fact sheet that the following entrance and exit ramps could see short-term detours:

• SR161 and I-270 access at Sunbury Road
• SR161 and I-270 access at Little Turtle Way
• SR161 at Hamilton Road
• SR161 at New Albany Road
• SR161 at Johnstown Road/U.S. 62

Even though the region was planning for sustained population growth before Intel's announcement, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission Executive Director William Murdock said in February that Intel kicked some projects already in the planning stages into gear.

“What Intel does is not changed the trajectory. It just makes it a little more urgent,” Murdock said. “In every direction, we have a major new commitment to industrial jobs, and that means the whole region is thinking about these things.”

An ODOT spokesperson said the agency should have more details about project-related dates after a Thursday meeting.