By 1808Delaware
Central Avenue goes dark for the Point Project
On August 3, orange cones will fan out across Central Avenue, sealing the busy east‑west route between Lake Street and the Norfolk Southern railroad bridge for up to 30 days. The closure lets crews carve new pavement onto the north half of William Street at the Central intersection, the next chess move in the multi‑year Point Improvement Project that is widening the bottle‑neck under the bridge.
Why the pain is worth it
Traffic engineers count about 25,000 vehicles a day squeezing through the underpass today; models say that number will rocket toward 40,000 by 2040. To keep pace, the $44.36 million makeover—managed by ODOT and contractor Shelly & Sands—adds lanes beneath the bridge, retools signals, runs a multi‑use path toward OH‑521, and upgrades every buried pipe from water mains to storm sewers. Completion is set for summer 2026.
How to move around it
• Detour: follow William Street and Lake Street in either direction.
• Local access: Central stays open between Potter and Moore Streets via side roads such as Channing, Potter and Wade.
• Lake Street tweaks: right‑turn‑only at Lake/Winter and temporary parking bans near the detour throat.
SR 315’s one‑two punch: drainage first, a roundabout second
Commuters who hug the Olentangy River will feel the squeeze first. Beginning July 14, State Route 315 closed in both directions between SR 750 and Orange Road for 28 days while crews yank out an aging culvert and regrade ditches that regularly flood the pavement.
Even as that work wraps, bulldozers stay put at the SR 315/Hyatts Road intersection, which shuts down the same day for 40 days so workers can sculpt a single‑lane roundabout—ODOT’s preferred fix for a crash‑prone, stop‑sign tangle that backs up during school runs and Saturday soccer.
Linked closures, shorter calendar
ODOT District 6 scheduled the projects together to “minimize the length of closures and prevent an influx of traffic” on local roads. In plain English: one summer of headaches instead of two.
Detour playbook
• SR 315 mainline: U.S. 23 → SR 750 → SR 315 (or reverse).
• Hyatts Road: U.S. 23 → Home Road → Liberty Road → Hyatts Road (or reverse).
The human side of orange barrels
School buses & marching bands Delaware City Schools start August 13; transportation staff have already rewritten routes to steer buses clear of the Point work zone and the SR 315 detours, hoping to keep first‑day pickups on schedule.
Small‑business math Downtown shops near Central fear a dip in foot traffic, but owners remember 2024’s overnight bridge‑demo closure that ended ahead of schedule—a confidence booster.
Cyclists & runners For those who pound the Olentangy Trail, the drainage fix on SR 315 should curb the surprise wash‑outs that send gravel across the shoulder every heavy rain.
What happens if the schedule slips?
Both projects wrote weather cushions into their calendars. A late‑summer deluge could stretch the Central closure past Labor Day, city engineers warn, while unanticipated rock in the SR 315 ditch could add days to the drainage job. ODOT promises weekly updates through variable‑message signs, social media, and its District 6 email blast.
Looking past the cones
By football season of 2025, SR 315 drivers should glide through a new roundabout and culvert, and Central Avenue should reopen with roomier approaches that set the stage for the Point Project’s grand finale next summer. Until then, the recipe is patience, an eye on the detour map—and maybe an extra podcast episode for the ride.
