The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), in partnership with the City of Chillicothe, thank you for taking your time to share your thoughts and concerns during the Bridge Street Corridor Study public involvement meeting held October 21 – November 21, 2021.  ODOT has reviewed 42 public comments from this outreach.  You can review the Public Meeting Comment Summary and the ODOT Public Meeting Response Letter, located in the Documents Section of this website. 

Preferred Alternative Announcement

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), in partnership with the City of Chillicothe, has selected a preferred alternative for the SR 159 (Bridge Street) Corridor Study.

The Bridge Street corridor is a major commercial district for the City of Chillicothe and the surrounding areas. Significant congestion occurs along Bridge Street beginning in the morning and continuing through the evening rush hour due to the large amounts of retail and restaurants along the corridor. This corridor includes several intersections which routinely experience congestion as well.

ODOT has conducted a feasibility study to determine the most appropriate improvements for the corridor. This study investigated solutions along Bridge Street from the bridge over the Scioto River to Pawnee Road, including the interchange with U.S. Route 35. The study included extensive outreach with local government agencies, business owners, and the public to elicit feedback at critical times throughout the process. The results of the feasibility study and public involvement identified the following Base improvements and solutions at four focus areas within the project corridor. 

The Preferred Alternative Exhibit, located in the Documents Section, illustrates these improvements and is available for download. 

The proposed Base improvements to the corridor are:

• Northbound Bridge Street: Construct an additional northbound travel lane along Bridge Street, from the Stewart Road intersection to Pawnee Road, to improve traffic flow and reduce congestion
• Southbound Bridge Street: Re-align the southbound lanes on Bridge Street as they approach the U.S. Route 35 interchange to allow two thru-lanes, to provide better balance of vehicles in each lane and greatly improve traffic flow
• Stewart Road/Consumer Center Drive Intersection: Add a northbound right turn lane and an eastbound right turn lane at the Stewart Road/Consumer Center Drive intersection to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, and improve safety
• New Access Road behind the BP gas station, Raising Cane’s and Applebee’s: Construct an access road west of Bridge Street, between North Plaza Boulevard and Marietta Road, to improve traffic flow and access to the businesses west of Bridge Street
• Pawnee Road Intersection with Bridge Street: Re-align Pawnee Road west of Bridge Street to provide better alignment for the intersection and maximize safety performance
• Pedestrian Facilities: Install pedestrian facilities on both sides of Bridge Street from the Scioto River bridge to Pawnee Road. This includes:
  • a shared use path (generally 10’ wide) on the east side of Bridge Street from the Scioto River bridge to North Plaza Boulevard, including across the bridge over the Scioto River;
  • a sidewalk on the east side of Bridge Street from North Plaza Boulevard to Pawnee Road, and
  • a sidewalk on the west side of Bridge Street from the bridge over the Scioto River to Pawnee Road.

The selected solutions at the four focus areas are:

• Focus Area A: Bridge Street/Stewart Road/Consumer Center Drive – Option 3 was selected.  This option will increase the efficiency of the traffic signal by maximizing the amount of green time and greatly improve the traffic flow along Bridge Street.  Improvements include:
  • At the Bridge/Stewart intersection:
    • Vehicles on Bridge Street will have left turn lanes onto Stewart Road (both northbound and southbound)
    • Vehicles on Stewart Road will not be permitted to travel straight or turn left onto Bridge Street. Instead, vehicles will use Consumer Center Drive to access either side of Bridge Street and turn right.
  • At the Stewart Road/Consumer Center Drive intersection east of Bridge Street:
    • A single-lane roundabout will be placed. The roundabout offers more traffic capacity and increases the safety performance compared to a traffic signal option.
• Focus Area B: U.S. Route 35 Eastbound Exit Ramp – Option 1 was selected. This option will provide a higher level of safety for drivers and pedestrians while improving traffic operations.
  • Improve the exit ramp by widening the outside shoulder to increase sight distance along the ramp and allow drivers to see stopped traffic from the intersection quicker.
  • Signalize the right turn lane (eliminate the current free-flow maneuver).
• Focus Area C: North Plaza Boulevard and Marietta Road Intersections with Bridge Street – a combination of Option 1 and 2 was selected.
  • Bridge Street between North Plaza Boulevard and Marietta Road: no changes are proposed to the lane configuration (other than the additional northbound lane).
  • Lanes on Marietta Road’s eastern approach to Bridge Street will be revised to two left turn lanes and a shared through/right turn lane.  This improves the efficiency of the traffic signal and aligns the westbound through lane with the west side of the intersection.
• Focus Area D: Northbound Lane Termination along Bridge Street – Option 2 was selected.  The additional northbound lane will be extended through the Pawnee Road intersection, then terminated as a right-turn-only lane at the first signalized intersection north of Pawnee Road. This provides better lane balance at the Bridge Street/Pawnee Road intersection and improves traffic flow at the northern termination of the project.

ODOT greatly appreciates your involvement with this project.  As the design for this project progresses, additional public outreach is expected.