The City of Pickerington has been awarded $13.65 million to transform Refugee Road into a convenient corridor designed to ease traffic congestion in the area.
The latest major roadway project for the City comes on the heels of an $8 million safety and beautification project for State Rt. 256 that is currently underway.
City Engineer Scott Tourville said the new project is just in the design stage, but it will eventually improve about 1.3 miles of roadway that feeds into the State Rt. 256 and Refugee Road intersection.
The project will travel from Wheatfield Drive, which is the western corporation limit, to near Woodstock Avenue, the eastern corporation limit.
Road work includes widening, reconstructing and resurfacing the present four lanes to five and adding center turn lanes or medians if necessary. Drainage improvements and pedestrian/bike pathways are also a part of the major construction project.
“These improvements will provide long-term capacity to the Refugee corridor. We’ll be able to provide the necessary infrastructure for both current and future traffic volumes,” Tourville said. “We should be able to get ahead of problems, rather than trying to catch up to traffic problems down the road. Being able to use the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) money really helps, since we’re leveraging that with the other grant funds to do the work all at once.”
Funds for the projects come from a $5.75 million award from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, $4.4 million in TIF from Ohio Health and $3.5 million from the Ohio Department of Transportation Safety Program.
“Projects are funded based on the merits of the project, benefits to the public, available funds and how this project compares to other projects seeking funds at that time,” Tourville said. “We have a very good project in terms of benefits to the public, so we’ve scored well enough to receive significant funds.”
While construction on the corridor is not slated to begin until late 2018, planning for the major roadway improvement project is underway. Part of the planning process will center on the impact construction work will have on traffic, especially during rush hours.
“We’ll try to balance the need to complete the project quickly and cost-effectively with the need to maintain traffic,” Tourville said.
Construction on the corridor is expected to be completed in 2019.
