With preferred route selected, ODOT hears final public feedback on U.S. 23 connector

DELAWARE — Connie Minor pointed to the bright red sweater she wore to Thursday’s public meeting at the Delaware County Fairgrounds.

“Why am I wearing red?” she asked. “Because I am furious about this.”

At 78, Minor has spent much of her life watching central Ohio change. She remembers Interstate 71 being built, State Route 23 when it was a two-lane road and farmland that has since given way to development.

That’s why Minor has attended every public meeting hosted by the Ohio Department of Transportation this year, to speak out against the preferred route for the proposed U.S. Route 23/Interstate 71 connector.

ODOT announced the preferred route earlier this month and is gathering public feedback before submitting its final feasibility study to the Ohio General Assembly on Oct. 1.

The 18-mile route would connect U.S. 23 north of Waldo to Interstate 71 near State Route 521, crossing portions of Marion, Morrow and Delaware counties and including a new interchange north of Ashley.

Minor believes the preferred route would fundamentally change the rural Buckeye Valley area where she grew up.

“This particular preferred corridor, most of it goes to the school district … and it’s a rural community,” she said. “I hate what’s happening in the southern end of the county, but I understand how and why it happened.”

Minor isn’t alone. Hundreds of residents have attended ODOT’s latest round of public meetings this week, many hoping to persuade state officials to abandon the proposal altogether.

But ODOT clarified that’s not actually the purpose of this process.

Lawmakers directed the agency to identify the most feasible route for a connector between U.S. Route 23 and Interstate 71 — not decide whether the highway should ultimately be built.

“This is not a project,” said ODOT Press Secretary Matt Bruning. “This is a study.”

The study, along with public comments gathered this summer, will be submitted to the Ohio General Assembly by Oct. 1.

The public comment period will remain open through Sept. 1. Comments can still be submitted online at publicinput.com/23-71study or by email at 23-71study@dot.ohio.gov.

Even though ODOT has identified a preferred route, Bruning said public comments remain an important part of the process because they’ll be included in the final report submitted to lawmakers.

“I think it’s a lot of just informing the lawmakers of how people feel and what those impacts would be,” he said.

He also acknowledged that no possible route avoids impacts altogether. Among the factors engineers considered were wetlands, archaeological resources, property impacts and community concerns.

Bruning said the preferred route reflects an effort to minimize those impacts while still providing the transportation connection lawmakers requested ODOT study.

“There is no option that has zero impact,” Bruning said. “What you’re trying to do is find the one with the least impact.”

He added that many of the conversations during this week’s meetings have been emotional.

“These are people that are worried that something’s going to impact their way of life — their homes,” he said. “It’s very personal.”

Minor said she originally didn’t want to get involved in the ODOT study. But as a longtime genealogist, she said researching Delaware County’s families and history has strengthened her desire to preserve it.

During Wednesday’s meeting in Marion, Minor said she struck up a conversation with a man who supported the connector because it would shorten his drive to Columbus.

“That’s all he cares about,” she said. “He doesn’t care about the farmers. He doesn’t care about the wildlife or anything.”

Minor said she handed him a summary of her 29-page research document before ending the conversation.

“I hope I gave him some food for thought,” she said.