The Ohio Department of Transportation wants to widen an increasingly congested corridor in one of the fastest developing areas of central Ohio.
ODOT is planning to widen U.S. Route 62 along a 6.2-mile stretch from New Albany to Johnstown as it prepares for more traffic in an area that already has been growing for years. That plan and other improvements should make the corridor safer and help traffic flow easier, ODOT says.
ODOT – along with local key stakeholders including the cities of Johnstown and New Albany, the New Albany Company and Licking County Transportation Improvement District – have been exploring U.S. Route 62 changes for more than a year as they plan for the increased traffic that will come from Intel’s $28 billion semiconductor plant just south of Johnstown. Project Manager Erin Sheidlower said U.S. 62 is the “backbone” of the Intel development.
Intel has hit a string of setbacks on the project, but state and local officials say they still expect the project to be a job center producing microchips — now expected in 2030 or 2031.
“We know that growth is coming, development is coming and this is a key corridor,” she said.
ODOT is specifically focused on U.S. Route 62 corridor from Smith’s Mill Road/Walton Parkway in New Albany to Clark Drive at the southwestern edge of Johnstown.
As the next part of the planning process, the agency will share its proposed upgrades with the community during an open house on Jan. 29 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at Church of Resurrection, 6300 E. Dublin Granville Road in New Albany.
While ODOT has not made any final decisions about the proposed changes, Sheidlower said the agency has recommendations that are data driven. Those recommendations include widening the roadway, adding roundabouts, making traffic signal changes and adding pedestrian paths on both sides of the roadway.
In 2024, an average of nearly 8,000 a cars a day passed through the intersection of U.S. Route 62 and Walton Parkway/Smith’s Mill Road a day. By 2050, ODOT predicts an average of more than 14,000 cars a day will pass through that same intersection.
Closer to the Intel site at U.S. 62 and Duncan Plains Road, an average 6,000 cars a day passed through the intersection in 2024. ODOT’s predictions show the same intersection will see nearly 9,000 by 2050.
Precisely when changes might be made also remains unclear. ODOT needs to secure funding for the project before it can move forward.
Eventually, the roadway could match other typical New Albany corridors with a median separating two lanes of traffic in each direction with leisure paths and bike lanes on each side of the roadway, Sheidlower said.
All the design alternatives will be available for the public to see during the open house, and then they will be available on the project’s ODOT website after the event, regional ODOT spokesperson Morgan Eibel said.
To prepare for Intel and other economic development in New Albany, ODOT has already widened State Route 161 in both directions from Interstate 270 to U.S. Route 62 on the eastern edge of New Albany. The state is planning to widen State Route 161 to three lanes in both directions from U.S. Route 62 to State Route 16 in Granville, and improving interchanges at State Route 37, Mink Street and Beech Road.
This planning process is just the first part of the project and then it will move into the design phase, which will include more public engagement and input from the community.
Gathering feedback from community members is key part of the process, Sheidlower said. People can submit feedback online on the project’s website, through paper forms that were mailed to nearby residents and that will available at the open house, and by calling and emailing her directly at 614-387-4002 or erin.sheidlower@dot.ohio.gov. Comments must be submitted no later than March 1.
(This story was updated to add new information.)
Delaware County and eastern Columbus suburbs reporter Maria DeVito can be reached at mdevito@dispatch.com and @mariadevito13.dispatch.com on Bluesky and @MariaDeVito13 on X.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: ODOT to share plans for U.S. Route 62 between New Albany and Johnstown
Reporting by Maria DeVito, Columbus Dispatch / The Columbus Dispatch
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