The city of Columbus is overhauling the Hudson Street corridor between I-71 and Cleveland Avenue in North Linden.
Construction’s been ongoing for two years.
The area will have better drainage, sidewalks, and a rebuilt roadway. The project has disrupted life and travel in the neighborhood, and complaints have rolled in.
“I'm sure I've written more than one,” said Ben Keith, the zoning committee chair for the North Linden Area Commission.
Keith said the city communicated about the project as it was being planned. And, he says they’ve worked well with property owners. But, since the work’s started and the inconveniences for the general public have started, communication has been down.
Keith also said the online information page for the project hasn’t been active since the city got a new website. And the page was often out of date when it was active. He said riding a bike, taking the bus and getting to businesses in the area is proving more difficult than it ought to be.
Bus routes have changed, but it isn't reflected on apps.
One of the complaints filed with the city's 311 system: "...resident states they normally get on the COTA bus along Hudson and at East Weber and McGuffey, but because of the road construction the bus can no longer stop there and she has to walk further away to another stop which is difficult for her to do..."
A sign for a bike trial detour was on the ground last week.
“I don't think there's been a lot of proactive communication from the city about this project. All of the communications, once the project planning wrapped up, has been reactive in response to requests,” Keith said.
Keith said he supports the project, and that it’ll be an improvement once it’s finished.
"They're completely rebuilding the road from the dirt up. So they've torn out the entire old road. They've built a whole new roadbed, put down new asphalt. On top of that, they've moved the curbs a few inches because they're installing the 10-foot bike path on the south side. You know, that got new driveway ramps for everybody because the curbs have moved," Keith said. "They're putting in new stormwater retention facilities to help Columbus comply with a settlement. And so it is a massive reconstruction project. And that's also why it's taking so long, is because it's not just for standard repaving. I think they're also installing new water mains and new sewer lines. They're separating the storm drains from the sewer."
But, Keith said the city could have done better with communicating with the public in later stages and making sure the roadway has clear signs and barriers with all of the confusing disruption.
“People who don't drive through here frequently, they have no idea what's going on because, you know, it's a construction zone and there aren't markings," Keith said.
Fifty complaints related to the project have been sent to the city’s 311 line. The first complaint was sent in July 2022, letting traffic engineering officials know that their orange barrels weren’t blocking a turn that was supposed to be blocked.
To add drainage, replace utility pipes, add safer curbs and rebuild the roadway, the city is completely digging out one side of the normally two-lane street with traffic going east and west. There’s only one lane open to one-way traffic.
James Young, Deputy Director of Columbus Public Service, said the extent of the project means it is more disruptive.
“We're rebuilding everything and this build's pretty difficult, because it's a narrow corridor and we don't have a lot of space to work," Young said.
Young said most of the communication since the project started has been with people directly impacted.
“Our construction team works with the residents to make sure that as we're going through, they're being contacted and they know what's going on. As it's getting closer, there is a lot of interaction between the property owners or the residents and our contractor and construction team," he said.
On a Thursday around 5 p.m., Keith saw two near collisions in the construction while talking with WOSU. The drivers went the wrong way near the I-71 ramps.
New turning lanes and better visibility at Hudson Street and Cleveland Avenue are expected to make the intersection safer. The department reports the intersection is one of the most dangerous in the state, according to a safety study conducted a few years ago.
"The intersection project will add left turn lanes on Cleveland Avenue northbound and southbound and a westbound right turn lane. These improvements will mitigate the incidence of rear end, angle and sideswipe-passing crashes here. The traffic signal will be reconstructed to improve visibility and pedestrian improvements constructed along the south side of Hudson. We anticipate construction starting later this summer and finishing approximately one year later," states an email from Debbie Briner, public relations specialist with the department.
Young said the city is applying their Vision Zero standards to the project, so the corridor will be a “complete street” with sidewalks and shared-use paths. Vision Zero is an initiative to end crash-related deaths and injuries.
“It should function better, should flow better and just operate better all together. And hopefully it's easier to maintain and serves the community well," Young said.
But there have been a fair share of complaints. Some report their property was damaged in the construction or that their car was driving through the site.
“We try and make sure it's accessible and it's as safe as it can be during construction. The construction is messy, it's dirty and noisy,” Young said.
Some reported problems with accessing driveways. The city joins a driveway to the intact part of the roadway with a steel plate that serves as a bridge. Someone reported a plate popping their tire.
Many questioned why the project had been so disruptive for so long.
“We're trying to make those those improvements maintain people's access, but it's hard to rebuild everything in the same place it was, if that makes sense. So there's a lot of temporary pavement, temporary workarounds. And it can be rough rides. I mean, and it has been," Young said.
Keith wants the city to bring back their project websites, and to keep them updated. He says communication at public forums should be maintained through the life of the project, not just at the beginning.
Young said there is definitely some construction fatigue out there, but most of the work is expected to wrap up later this year before winter sets in.
“(The construction crew members) are starting to get some thumbs up from some residents because they actually see the progress. You know like once you see things open up and you actually see finished work, walls, curbs, all of a sudden you get a little more excited," Young said. "Everybody likes to see us leave, you know?”
