CHILLICOTHE – State roadway officials cleared the final hurdle last week in the design of the long-awaited Chesapeake Bypass.

Monday, June 25, 2001

CHILLICOTHE – State roadway officials cleared the final hurdle last week in the design of the long-awaited Chesapeake Bypass. In a June 21 fax, Ohio Department of Transportation District 9 Deputy Director John F. Hagen said the "record of decision" for the bypass was issued by the Federal Highway Administration.

"Following Federal Highway’s approval of the Environmental Impact Statement in April, the Record of Decision was the next major step toward advancing this project," Hagen said. "With the agency’s conclusion, the project is found to be in total compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the development and design process can be completed."

In other words, the final documents required before the bypass design can become final have been approved with the administration’s issue of the record of decision.

The record of decision showed that the state’s design avoids, as much as possible, impacts to historic, archeological, wildlife, cultural and human resources. Steps to minimize impacts were taken throughout the development process, it indicated.

Thus, the proposed alignment for the entire Chesapeake Bypass satisfies the project’s purpose and need and meets design and safety criteria, while avoiding the most negative and adverse impacts as possible, Hagen said.

The Chesapeake Bypass proposes construction of a four-lane, divided highway to relocate Ohio 7 in Union and Rome Townships in Lawrence County. The proposed route will move traffic from the existing Ohio 7 to the northernmost border of the area, eventually connecting from the Ohio 527 interchange in the west to Ohio 7 in the east.

The project has been outlined in three phases, with Phase 1 the purchase of the right of way for the entire project and constructing the Ohio 607 connector from the 31st Street Bridge to the proposed new Ohio 7, Hagen said.

From that point, two eastbound lanes of the proposed mainline will be constructed to the east and tied into the existing Ohio 7, just north of Fairland East Elementary. There will also be at-grade intersections built at Ohio 775, Whiley Avenue and the existing Ohio 7, he said.

The first portion of Phase 1 is scheduled to sell in the spring of 2002, and construction of a two-lane bypass around Proctorville is estimated to take from one to two years to complete. The remainder of the Phase 1 project is then to be sold in 2003.

While total cost of the project is estimated at just more than $155 million, the cost of Phase 1 is about $46 million, ODOT officials said.

This figure, however, includes right-of-way acquisition and environmental mitigation costs for the entire project. Currently, ODOT is purchasing right of way and pursuing property clearances for the first phase of this project.