There may be relief ahead for the most crash-prone section of the 56-mile Interstate 270 outerbelt around Columbus.
New lanes opened recently next to the eastbound lanes of the outerbelt between U.S. Route 23 in Worthington and Interstate 71. It had been a longtime choke point for eastbound traffic, with motorists fighting for position to merge on and off the outerbelt to go either south to Columbus or north to Delaware.
According to the Ohio Department of Transportation, there were 311 crashes on that small stretch of outerbelt between Jan. 1, 2021, and Feb. 17, 2026. Almost half of these crashes [137], involved people ages 15-24. More than a third of the crashes [106] involved people older than 55.
Regardless of age, time or speed, Worthington rescue crews have been the first to respond, often to rear-end crashes that could back up freeway traffic for miles, frequently seen at crash sites.
“We probably average anywhere from two to three accidents a day up there,” said Worthington Assistant Fire Chief Christoper Craig, who called freeway runs “absolutely the most dangerous, and scariest, places we go,” due to motorists failing to slow or otherwise not paying attention. “We’ve had quite a few near misses.”
And typically, those crashes happen at the end of the workday.
The most dangerous time to drive on that stretch of I-270 was 5-6 p.m., according to crash data, during which more crashes occurred than any other hour of the day. The busiest crash days were Fridays and Saturdays, with 58 crashes reported on each of those days.
“There’s a lot of traffic you’re trying to push through there and a short distance and amount of time,” ODOT spokesperson Matt Bruning said, describing the moving and weaving. “You’re trying to get that same piece of pavement as the other guy: ‘I’m needing to exit, and you’re needing to enter.'”
ODOT also is adding an extra lane to a flyover bridge toward Dublin that is nearing completion.
“We won’t realize all the benefits of the project until all the work is done, but we are seeing some preliminary benefits,” Bruning said. “That area of the state is one of the fastest growing. You’ve got a lot of traffic going through there and the pipe’s only so big.”
The stretch of outerbelt between U.S. 23 and I-71 has the third-highest number of vehicles per day in the state (167,590). The stretch from State Route 315 to U.S. 23 (165,531) is fourth-highest statewide. An area in Cleveland is first with 172,846.
“The more traffic you have, really, the higher the risk of accidents,” Bruning said.
Growth and development reporter Dean Narciso can be reached at dnarciso@dispatch.com.
Transportation and neighborhoods reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, at @NathanRHart on X and at nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: New lanes along Interstate 270 to relieve crash-prone North Side
Reporting by Dean Narciso and Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Dean Narciso and Nathan Hart, Columbus Dispatch | USA TODAY Network
