CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — June is shaping up to be a challenging month for Ross County commuters. While orange barrels continue to dominate the ongoing Bridge Street rebuild, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Ross County Engineer’s Office have announced a massive wave of construction projects starting today, Friday, May 29.
The upcoming work includes a rapid-pace repaving of the U.S. 23/U.S. 35 Chillicothe Bypass, a 60-day road closure on Charleston Pike, and critical intersection upgrades near local schools and corridors.
The Chillicothe Bypass Shift: Day and Night Operations
Crews are hitting the pavement today to begin a major resurfacing project on the U.S. 23/U.S. 35 Chillicothe Bypass, stretching from the North Bridge Street/SR 159 interchange south to the southern split.
To fast-track the project ahead of the busy Independence Day holiday travel rush, highway officials have altered the original night-only schedule. Crews will now mill the top layer of asphalt during the day and repave the lanes overnight. Barring weather delays, this aggressive strategy will allow the project to wrap up by mid-June.
Drivers should prepare for the following construction timeline:
- June 1 – June 10: Crews will tackle the two outside lanes. During daytime hours, at least two lanes will remain open in each direction. At night, traffic will be restricted to a single lane. For safety, the right lane will remain closed even when work shifts to the middle lane.
- Overnight Northbound Detours (June 10 & 11): Westbound U.S. 35 traffic will be forced to exit at Eastern Avenue and immediately re-enter the highway via northbound U.S. 23.
- Overnight Southbound Detours (June 12 & 15): Southbound U.S. 23 traffic will be forced to exit at SR 207. Drivers will be detoured west on SR 207 to southbound SR 104.
- June 16 – June 18: Final paving will take place on the interchange ramps and a short section of East Main Street.
Charleston Pike Closing for 60 Days
A major disruption is coming to Charleston Pike starting Monday, June 1. The roadway will completely close for two months between Blacksmith Hill Road and Concord Church Road so crews can connect the existing roadway to the newly constructed bridge over the CSX Railroad tracks.
The Official Detour: Drivers traveling westbound will be routed via Concord Church Road to U.S. 50 west, onto U.S. 35 west, exiting at East Main Street to return to Charleston Pike. Eastbound traffic will utilize the same route in reverse.
Pleasant Valley Intersection Upgrades
Commuters and parents of school-aged children will see relief later this summer as work begins the week of June 1 on two high-congestion intersections along Pleasant Valley Road. Both projects are scheduled for completion by July 31:
- At Veterans Parkway/Clinton Road: Crews will lengthen the westbound right-turn lane on Pleasant Valley Road to help alleviate the notorious weekday afternoon bottleneck.
- At Egypt Pike: A dedicated right-turn lane will be added to westbound Pleasant Valley Road. This targeted upgrade aims to significantly reduce the severe traffic backups caused by morning drop-off and afternoon pick-up lines at Unioto Elementary School.
A Plea for Work Zone Safety
With an unprecedented amount of construction happening simultaneously across the county, transportation officials are urging drivers to ditch distractions and exercise extreme caution.
“We realize there is a lot of work underway simultaneously around Ross County,” ODOT noted in a statement. “Please pay attention to all signage and directions in the work zones. While these instructions and detours may be inconvenient, they are put there with your safety and the safety of the workers in mind.”
