Parsons Avenue bridge over I-70 in Columbus closed for two months

Future traffic on Parsons Avenue just south of Downtown will travel under eastbound Interstate 70 instead of over the top of the highway.

On Monday, the Ohio Department of Transportation closed Parsons between Main and Mooberry streets, including the bridge, for two months. Construction crews will demolish the existing bridge that carries traffic over the highway, and replace it with a new span for eastbound I-70 over Parsons.

Parsons already runs underneath westbound I-70 and the Mound Street Connector for westbound traffic to exit Downtown. The new bridge will shift eastbound I-70 lanes north to be closer to the westbound lanes.

Crews already have built piers for the new bridge, ODOT spokeswoman Breanna Badanes said. They will install the beams now that Parsons has closed.

The bridge replacement is the latest piece of a multi-year plan that started in spring 2019 to widen I-70 between I-71 and Route 315, add a lane on I-71 south of Broad Street and replace several bridges.

The most recent phase costs about $80 million.

The so-called Downtown Ramp Up, formerly known as Columbus Crossroads, also has affected several ramps, including the permanent closure of the eastbound I-70 ramp from 3rd Street. That ramp is being replaced with a new one from Fulton Street.

Drivers on Parsons Avenue will be detoured around the bridge via Livingston Avenue to either Grant or 18th avenues and to Main Street, according to ODOT.

The entrance ramp from Main to northbound I-71 and I-670 will remain open during the closure via a temporary configuration that will allow drivers going in either direction on Main to access the ramp.

After demolishing the bridge, crews will rebuild Parsons and construct the new bridge.

ODOT already has shifted eastbound I-70 traffic between Grant Avenue and 18th Street to share the westbound bridge over Parsons while eastbound lanes are reconstructed and the new bridge is built.

This phase of work, including the new ramp from Fulton Street to eastbound I-70, is expected to be complete by fall 2021.

By Rick Rouan
The Columbus Dispatch