DELAWARE — Delaware City Council officially supports the state’s recommendations for the U.S. Route 23 Connect study and has indicated that the improvements should take priority over the 23/I-71 connector.
Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday outlining the city’s position on two separate transportation projects: the U.S. 23 Connect study, which focuses on improvements to the existing highway, and the proposed connector between U.S. 23 and Interstate 71.
The Ohio Department of Transportation announced its preferred route for the potential connector in July.
“The position statement is basically in order for the city to go on record for what we feel the preference should be at the state level,” City Engineer Jonathan Owen said.
While the city recognizes that completing both projects would provide the greatest benefit to Delaware and the surrounding area, the resolution prioritizes improvements to the existing U.S. 23 corridor to reduce travel times and improve safety.
“The city of Delaware’s position is that the primary focus to improve travel time and safety for motorists in the Delaware region, and for the Toledo to Columbus connection, should be to implement the high performing concepts identified in the U.S. 23 Corridor Action Plan, January 2025,” the resolution states.
However, with the combined projects estimated to cost at least $2.5 billion, Owen said funding both is unlikely.
“If we’re coming down to one, the primary focus should be on the 23 corridor improvements,” he said.
Two sections of U.S. 23 are particularly relevant to Delaware: Pennsylvania Avenue to Hills Miller Road (Segment 6) and Main Road to state Route 229 (Segment 7).
Owen said the resolution also summarizes major studies involving Delaware and U.S. 23 and compares the U.S. 23 Connect study with the separate proposed U.S. 23-to-I-71 connector.
ODOT is still collecting public comments on the projects until Nov. 28.
Below is the resolution city council approved on Monday. Story continues below.
Why did the city take this stance?
Owen highlighted a few reasons why the city came to this position.
He emphasized Delaware’s role in the discussion, noting that the city is the largest political subdivision between Toledo and Columbus and a major stakeholder in decisions affecting the U.S. 23 corridor.
“U.S. 23 is pretty important to the city, it’s pretty important to why the city is what it is today and what it will be in the future,” he said. “Everybody, I think, recognizes that 23 needs some major improvements for safety, traffic congestion purposes.
“And both of these studies, in essence, at least partially, seek solutions to the same or similar problems — to reduce travel time north to south, south to north through this area.”
Overall, decreasing congestion and travel time while increasing travel time reliability and improving safety is important to the city, Owen said.
He noted a comparison of the two projects found that improvements proposed under the U.S. 23 Connect study would reduce travel times slightly more than construction of the proposed U.S. 23-to-I-71 connector.
Owen also highlighted the projects’ price tags — both estimated over $1 billion.
“It is sort of hard to imagine both [projects] being fully funded, and even if [the connector] were to be constructed between 23 and 71, there would still be major improvements needed along 23 in the long term,” he said.
