CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Bridge Street is on track to reopen in both directions by Monday evening and return to three lanes each way by Thursday, a week before Thanksgiving, but the Ohio Department of Transportation is warning drivers to expect major delays while crews restripe Chillicothe’s busiest commercial corridor over the next several days.
“Some major changes are coming as we get both directions of Bridge Street re-opened, as promised, ahead of Thanksgiving,” said Matt Bruning, ODOT press secretary and a Ross County resident.
ODOT, which announced the schedule Friday, said the reopening is coming a week early. Southbound lanes through the U.S. 35 interchange have been closed since late March.
Why the work has to happen in daylight
Before the new traffic pattern can open, crews have to paint temporary lane markings on the rebuilt pavement, and the weather is setting the schedule.
“Because temperatures must be warmer for the paint to properly be applied and dry, the work must be done during the day and cannot be completed at night,” Bruning said.
That puts the lane restrictions in the middle of daytime traffic.
Day by day: What Bridge Street drivers should expect
Sunday, Nov. 15: Beginning at 7 a.m., crews will begin prepping the concrete for painting lane markings on the new northbound lanes between Riverside Drive and Marietta Road.
“Traffic will be reduced to a single northbound lane during this operation, so expect long traffic delays,” Bruning said.
Monday, Nov. 16: Crews will continue restriping the roadway. ODOT hopes to have traffic moving in both directions on Bridge Street again by Monday evening.
“Again, we expect major delays during this operation,” Bruning said.
Tuesday and Wednesday, Nov. 17-18: Crews will restripe the stretch from Marietta Road to Chillicothe Mall and Zane Plaza. That work will reduce Bridge Street to one lane in each direction, and ODOT said major delays are again anticipated.
Thursday, Nov. 19: “The goal is to have all lanes in a final configuration for the winter by Thursday morning,” Bruning said. “This will include three lanes in both directions.”
Bruning also reminded motorists not to enter signalized intersections until they can safely clear them.
“Blocking intersections will cause additional delays along this busy corridor,” he said.
New traffic pattern at Stewart Road
Drivers will also find a different setup at Bridge Street and Stewart Road, though the intersection is not finished.
“New traffic signals have not yet been installed at the intersection of Bridge Street and Stewart Road, so the intersection will not function at an optimal level,” Bruning said. “However, the final traffic pattern will be in place once all lanes reopen on Bridge Street.”
Under that pattern, both northbound and southbound traffic will be permitted to turn left from Bridge Street. All traffic leaving the Shawnee Square shopping center and Stewart Road must turn right to enter Bridge Street.
“So, traffic heading north will enter Bridge Street from the Walmart/Kohl’s/Rocas/Nourse side and traffic heading south will enter Bridge Street from the Shawnee Square side,” Bruning said.
More lane closures after Thanksgiving
The work will not be entirely finished when the lanes reopen. ODOT said additional lane closures are coming on the southbound side after the holiday so crews can remove the temporary on-ramp to westbound U.S. 35 and install curb and gutter and guardrail.
That work is expected to begin Monday, Nov. 30, and take three days to allow the concrete to fully cure.
“All work is weather dependent,” Bruning said.
“Additional intermittent daytime lane closures may be required through mid-December, but no additional full closures are planned,” he said.
Major construction will then pause for the winter.
“Additional work will happen in the spring of 2027, though it will be much less impactful than we’ve seen over the last two years,” Bruning said. “All work is expected to be completed next summer.”
How Bridge Street got here
The $19.29 million State Route 159 (Bridge Street) Safety Improvements project began in spring 2025 and is scheduled to end in summer 2027, according to ODOT.
Bridge Street is the main route between downtown Chillicothe, the U.S. 35 interchange, the city’s big-box shopping centers and the Chillicothe Mall. ODOT has said it identified several intersections along the corridor with high crash rates between 2014 and 2018, particularly rear-end collisions driven by congestion. A 2020 feasibility study and public outreach in 2021 shaped the project.
The plan adds a northbound lane from Stewart Road to north of Pawnee Road, creates a southbound drop lane to the westbound U.S. 35 ramp and realigns the interchange ramps on new concrete pavement. It also includes a shared-use path, sidewalks, new signals at seven intersections, a new access road called Marietta Road and a roundabout on River Trace near Walmart.
Crews spent 2025 relocating utilities, upgrading the Scioto River bridge and building the shared-use path, sidewalks and roundabout. The project entered its most disruptive phase this year, when southbound lanes through the interchange closed and southbound traffic was detoured to westbound U.S. 35.
In August, ODOT shifted northbound traffic onto new concrete so crews could rebuild the northbound lanes, and closed the ramp from Bridge Street to eastbound U.S. 35 until Thanksgiving.
The closures and detours have tested drivers’ patience and drawn complaints from business owners along the corridor, who said the construction was costing them customers.
ODOT posts traffic impacts for the project at transportation.ohio.gov/bridgestreet. Questions can be directed to the ODOT District 9 public information office at 740-774-8834 or [email protected].
More Chillicothe news and Ross County news is available from the Guardian.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
