A section of the Nelsonville Bypass opened to traffic last week — marking the start of traffic circumventing the city — but gas stations, restaurants and shops on U.S. Route 33 haven’t seen a big decrease in business.
Since last Wednesday, traffic that once stayed on Route 33 to pass through Nelsonville can now take a new roundabout on Route 33, and then follow a ramp at West Interchange Road to get on the bypass. Traffic will exit the bypass through Ohio Department of Transportation’s tie-in to the current four-lane Route 33.
Though the opening of the bypass has pulled some traffic from Route 33, Nelsonville business owners haven’t complained that business has declined, said Kevin Dotson, president of the Nelsonville Area Chamber of Commerce.
“I don’t think any businesses will be affected until (the project) is done,” he said. “I really haven’t heard anything negative, but also anything positive, about it from business owners.”
Dotson is the manager of Rocky Outdoor Gear on Route 33, and has been president of the chamber in the past, both in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The company hasn’t seen a decline in business since the opening of the bypass, he said.
The Nelsonville Area Chamber of Commerce has hosted meetings about the bypass opening for business owners who have expressed interest in adding signage along the bypass to attract traffic to Nelsonville businesses.
Businesses aren’t likely to develop along the bypass, because most of the surrounding land is a part of the Wayne National Forest, Dotson said.
“People just need to know what we have,” Dotson said, adding that businesses along Route 33 aren’t far enough away to halt business. “People didn’t stop shopping in Lancaster when their bypass opened; it shouldn’t happen here, either.”
The Tourist-Oriented Directional Signs program, sponsored by ODOT, is geared to put information about community businesses at expressway intersections, said Cary Betzing, District 10 Construction Administrator for ODOT.
“There are some informational signs, like the one for Hocking College,” Betzing said. “I don’t know if anyone else has applied.”
Still, the bypass might have a negative impact on the businesses in the area once the project is complete, Dotson said.
“I think it plays a significant part for impulse traffic for people who need gas or are hungry,” he said. “But the tourists will probably continue driving to stuff and keep coming into town.”
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