Chillicothe — Southbound Yoctangee Boulevard will close for construction on Monday, and part of Yoctangee Park’s flood protection is getting emergency replacement after a fire.
That was Mayor Luke Feeney’s briefing to Chillicothe Council on Monday evening, March 9th, 2026. After the council session, I asked him to expand on the two topics. Hear him in his own words in the video below.
Feeney explained that a pump station in Yoctangee Park, which helps to keep floodwater out of the park, suffered an electrical fire about a month ago and was a total loss.
He said this was in the floodwall building near the Pump House Center for the Arts, beside the basketball court. Feeney said he $400-500K will be covered by insurance. In the meantime, the city is paying for a temporary pump to continue to push any high water into the Scioto River.
In the council session, the mayor had told council that state law allows an abbreviated process for such rare emergency situations. Council was allowed to simply give an immediate vote to support the mayor’s request – which had to be be a minimum of two-thirds, but was unanimous.
The city will now seek multiple quotes for the work, but will not need to use the complete formal bidding process. Feeney said this will save 60 to 90 days so the city can get ahead of fall rains.
The mayor admitted that the southbound Bridge Street closure under US 35 in a couple weeks will greatly complicate local traffic patterns.
Closure of the eastbound US 35 onramp from High Street / State Route 104 is a part of that, and he pointed out that the state will do it for safety. Feeney said a woman was killed in a holiday season crash as traffic was backed up in the eastbound offramp to Bridge Street a few years ago, so ODOT wants to avoid that risk.
But to add to traffic woes, another southbound artery will be cut off. On the other side of the river, southbound Yoctangee Boulevard will close at Mill Street, as well as Mill Street at Park Street, on Monday for construction of an urban roundabout. Then once the school year ends, the entire intersection will be closed both ways for the summer.
Feeney said this has been coordinated with the school – they know changes will be needed for bus routes and school drop offs. He said the parking lot for the YMCA will still be accessible from Yoctangee Boulevard, and the Paint Street entrance to Yoctangee Park remains open.
Since that will push southbound traffic onto High Street, I asked if the traffic lights there can be timed for a smoother flow. Feeney pushed back and said they are already timed – and that the city has made adjustments for crosswalks and traffic flow at several locations.
He said traffic on cross streets trigger changes of traffic lights and can interrupt the flow. In addition, as a state route, responsibility for High Street is shared with the state – so management can be complicated.
(I had to admit that driving is too much perception and not enough accurate statistics. And, I admit that I usually drive on Yoctangee instead of High because of the fewer traffic lights…though after every power outage, the lights go out of sync until the city attends to them.)
Feeney said that if anyone has recommendations on timing traffic light, they can contact the city.
He also pointed out that though two-lane High Street is narrow, its speed limit is 35 – while four-lane Main Street is wider but is 25 miles an hour. Feeney said traffic management is like an onion: dealing with all the factors is like peeling back layers to find more layers.
Continued closure of Mulberry and Riverside streets add to traffic complications. That entrance of Yoctangee Park, and the route from the downtown to Bridge Street, has been closed since October for reconstruction as part of the Yoctangee Park renovations.
Although Feeney said complications have delayed its completion – unexpected amounts of concrete underground, and persistent winter weather – he said it is hoped to open in April, or maybe 60 days.
So, before Yoctangee Boulevard completely closes, and soon after Bridge Street is limited, Mulberry Street should be reopening.
The mayor said information is posted on the city’s website and Facebook page.
He pointed out that it is human nature to get frustrated with change – and also be frustrated with normal traffic – but “the data supports these decisions,” and “the juice will be worth the squeeze.”
