Groveport Messenger - March 10th, 2024

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The giant things are on the move
By Rick Palsgrove
Groveport Editor
The Groveport Police are working to stay on top of a
situation involving the movement of huge, heavy
equipment along Groveport area roads headed for
Licking County as part of the $20 billion Intel semiconductor
chip factory project.
According to the Ohio Department of
Transportation (ODOT), the first of nearly two dozen
extremely large truck loads, known as “super loads,”
were expected to journey from Manchester along the
Ohio River to Central Ohio as soon as March 6. Each
load will be transported by semi-truck via a predetermined
route to destinations in either New Albany or
Hebron. Most, but not all, of the loads are associated
with the future Intel semiconductor facilities. The
loads will not contain any hazardous material.
ODOT officials said some of the loads will weigh
900,000 pounds, be 19 feet wide, 24 feet high, and 270
feet long. Each oversized and overweight load will take
approximately 8-15 days to reach its destination.
While no official closures or detours are planned, slowrolling
road blocks will be necessary during transit,
and drivers should plan ahead for long delays along
the route.
Groveport Police Chief Casey Adams said representatives
from the Columbus Police Department and
ODOT provided him with the following information:
•Over a period of months, there are approximately
40 oversized transports that will come through
Groveport and Madison Township.
•Four of the oversized transports will be the largest
loads police have been anticipating coming through the
community, and will most likely cause some traffic
delays in Groveport (slower speeds and wider turns on
the roadways). The loads will be approximately 266 in
length, over 20 feet in height, and over 500,000 pounds
in weight
•The other 36 oversized loads will vary in size
(height, weights, and length). They will be smaller
compared to the four largest transports, and some of
these oversized loads can be transported on shorter
time frame compared to the four largest transports,
along with a different route - State Route 317 to U.S.
33 eastbound/ bypassing the Bixby Road route.
•Weekend only transports through Franklin
County.
•Transports will take place during daylight hours
only.
•Utility companies will be staging ahead of the
oversized transports to minimize traffic delays as the
trucks move through the designated routes.
Adams said the following Groveport area roads will
be affected by these oversized transports: Alum Creek
Drive (south of Rohr Road), Rohr Road, Opus Drive ,
Green Pointe Drive South, Saltzgaber Road, State
Route 317 (South Hamilton Road), Old Hamilton Road,
Bixby Road, Ebright Road, and U.S. 33 (heading east
towards Gender Road in Canal Winchester).
“When the city of Groveport and the Groveport
Police Department are made aware of these transports
MORPC
Continued from page 1
33 is already choked with traffic.
“Many of our traffic problems in the town of
Groveport are the result of U.S. 33 and I-270 not being
able to handle the traffic volume,” said Rupp. “We’ve
become an avoidance route for traffic in southeast
Franklin County.”
“We will work to provide as much notice as
possible so that drivers can plan ahead and
use alternate routes.”
- Jack Marchbanks
ODOT director
through ODOT media releases, I will make sure to
keep the community informed of this information in
the coming months,” said Adams.
Adams said the humongous equipment cannot be
transported on Interstate freeways because it will not
fit under overpasses, so local roads must be used.
ODOT officials stated they analyzed and planned
the route to make sure these super loads can be accommodated.
Since each load will be escorted by several
Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers, emergency traffic
will get around the rolling road block with minimal
delay. Working with partners like local governments
and utility companies, obstructions along the route
such as large overhead signs, traffic signals, and utility
lines have been adjusted and moved.
“For months, we have been working in coordination
with the Ohio State Highway Patrol and local stakeholders
along the route to ensure each move goes as
smoothly as possible with minimal impacts to those
who live and work in the communities along the route,”
said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks. “We will work
to provide as much notice as possible so that drivers
can plan ahead and use alternate routes.”
The schedule of each of these loads will be checked
against local events, like festivals and fairs, to further
minimize impacts.
“Moving loads like these is not new for ODOT and
our various partners. However, what makes this situation
unique is the number of these types of loads
arriving in short succession,” said Mike Moreland,
administrator of ODOT’s Office of Special Hauling
Permits.
Notifications will be made in advance of each load
leaving the dock on the Ohio River near Manchester.
Updates will be provided as each load moves toward
central Ohio.
The route in central Ohio the loads will follow:
north on Rickenbacker Parkway North to Alum Creek
Drive; north on Alum Creek Drive to Rohr Road; east
on Rohr Road to Commerce Center Drive; north on
Commerce Center Drive to Green Pointe Drive South;
east on Green Pointe Drive South to Saltzgaber Road;
south on Saltzgaber Road to State Route 317; north in
the southbound lanes on State Route 317 past
Groveport to Bixby Road east; east on Bixby Road to
U.S. 33; east in the westbound lanes of U.S. 33 to the
Gender Road southbound to U.S. 33 westbound ramp
in Canal Winchester; travel the wrong way on the
Gender Road southbound to U.S. 33 westbound ramp;
take State Route 674/Gender Road north to Brice
Road; take Brice Road north to the intersection with
Tussing Road/State Route 204 in Columbus; east on
Tussing Road/State Route 204 east to State Route 310;
and north on State Route 310 to U.S. 40 in Etna.
Cardoni said that the widening of U.S. 33 is a top
priority for funding.
Council members also were not pleased with the
plan’s proposal of extending Richardson Road north to
Ebright Road because it would run the road through
Groveport Park.