The Ohio Department of Transportation released its preferred route for a potential U.S. 23/Interstate 71 connector highway at a media availability July 30.
ODOT's preferred route connects with U.S. 23 north of Waldo and weaves its way through land in Marion County and Morrow County before connecting with U.S. 42 north of the village of Ashley. The route then heads sharply southward, skirting the border of Delaware County before ending at Interstate 71 just south of State Route 521.
"We're really trying to weigh where we think the most traffic would benefit from building a new connector between 23 and 71 and reducing the impacts to the environment to the greatest extent possible. Doesn't matter which one of these lines we would have chosen, you
were going to have some impacts regardless," ODOT spokesperson Matt Bruning said.
ODOT's preferred route is one of the five routes around the village of Ashley it released in February as a part of a Draft Conceptual Alternatives Study. Several central Ohio residents who attended an ODOT open house on the five routes in March were largely critical of the effort, saying they were concerned about how the route would impact their homes and their neighborhoods.
Several Northwest Ohioans, meanwhile, support the connector, saying they need a more reliable route connecting their region to Columbus. Since February, ODOT has received over 2,000 public comments on the connector routes, which informed how ODOT chose its preferred alternative, Bruning said.
The public will have a few more chances to comment on the connector route at a series of open houses ODOT is hosting from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 4-6. The Aug. 4 meeting will be held at Mount Gilead High School in Mount Gilead, the Aug. 5 meeting will be held at the Cornerstone Alliance Church in Marion and the Aug. 6 meeting will be held at the Delaware County Fairgrounds Ag Building in Delaware County.
Residents who can't make the in-person meetings can also submit comments until Sept. 1 on ODOT's public input website, by emailing 23-71study@dot.ohio.gov, or by sending mail marked with "ATTN: US 23/I-71 Connector Feasibility Study" to ODOT's District 6 offices at 400 East William St. in Delaware.
Ohio's operating budget signed into law in 2025 required ODOT to study the feasibility of connecting U.S. 23 and I-71 north of Delaware to relieve traffic congestion that has resulted from residential and commercial development along U.S. 23 in Delaware County. ODOT has until Oct. 1 to submit a final feasibility study to the Ohio General Assembly. Then it will be up to the legislature and state officials to decide if the project moves forward.
Residents can check to see if their homes will be impacted by ODOT's preferred route via an online tool.
Transportation and neighborhoods reporter Nathan Hart can be reached at NHart@dispatch.com, @NathanRHart on X and nathanhart.dispatch.com on Bluesky.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: ODOT has picked a new route connecting U.S. 23 and I-71
