Those who are looking forward to using the Nelsonville Bypass will be able to do so sooner than anticipated.
After a few years of work on the bypass off U.S. Route 33, the Ohio Department of Transportation predicts the project will finish around August or September, earlier than expected. The lack of snow last winter allowed workers to make extra progress on the bypass.
The three-phase project was launched in October 2009, and the beginning of the second phase was moved back from this spring to last October. The westbound lanes opened in September, and the eastbound lanes opened in October, said David Rose, the public information officer for ODOT’s 10th district.
The west portion of the bypass opened ahead of schedule and is already functioning. About four miles of the second-phase section opened almost nine months ahead of schedule, according to an ODOT news release.
“The opening of phase two ahead of schedule is incredible and illustrates the hard work ODOT and the contractors have been doing since we broke ground in 2009,” said Audrey Seals, phase two project engineer, in the release.
The shorter timeline won’t change the project’s overall cost of $138 million, Rose said.
He added that the first phase was funded by federal and state gas tax dollars, and the second and third are funded through stimulus funds.
“The cost is developed based on material and work being done (rather than time),” Rose said.
The next step of the project includes paving and installing safety items such as lights and road signs, said Daniel McDonald, phase three project engineer, in the release.
The bypass was originally proposed 50 years ago and has been on hold since the 1970s, when the original design projects were created.
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the progress we’ve made this year,” ODOT District 10 Deputy Director Steve Williams said in the release. “Once we open the bypass next year, this major corridor and busy truck route will not only be safer to travel but will further enhance economic development opportunities in southeastern Ohio.”
kf398711@ohiou.edu
