Transportation Dept. Hosts Open House
December 29, 1996, article two

Another small step in the long, slow process of realizing the Fostoria Bypass was taken on Tuesday Dec. 10. The District 2 office of the Ohio Dept. Of Transportation held an open house at the Fostoria Middle School.

The public was invited to come and examine for itself many aspects of the proposed project. Representatives of ODOT as well as the engineering firm of Mannik and Smith were present to answer questions and explain various displays.

Two preliminary corridors have been identified, one goes east around Fostoria, the other west. From south to north, both begin near the intersection of 23 and 224 south of town.

The westerly route heads northwest, skirting the western edge of Lake LeComte and the Vietnam Veterans Reservoir. It proceeds north until it crosses Stearns Rd. where it turns northeast and rejoins 23 North near the Longley railroad tracts.

The easterly route branches northeast off 23. It turns north after crossing SR 18 and continues north until the vicinity of TR 84 (Ecker Rd.). Then it turns northwest and joins 23 N also near the Longley railroad crossing.

The preliminary corridors were chosen with the following considerations in mind - land use (residential, agricultural, industrial, utilities, parks, recreation), cultural resources (prehistoric archaeological, historic archaeological, historic architectural), ecological resources (aquatic, terrestrial, wetlands), air/water/noise impacts, socioeconomic impact (Fire/EMS, hospitals, religious cultural institutions, schools, community boundaries, police districts, civic centers), engineering impacts (roadway alignment, traffic, right-of-way, drainage, cost) and hazardous material sites.

The purpose of the 23 bypass is to significantly reduce the volume of through truck traffic currently moving through Fostoria. The removal of the trucks will increase roadway capacity and safety and will reduce pavement damage caused by heavy loads.

Richard Bertz of Mannik and Smith said that the ODOT project list is currently being reevaluated. The Fostoria Bypass is presently ranked 49th on the list. The proposal to change the bypass from a four lane highway to a “super two” lane road are designed to improve that ranking.

The purpose of last week’s open house was to inform the public of the status of the bypass, to encourage citizen participation and to provide information pertaining to social and cultural issues. There will be other such meetings as the project moves along.

The US 23 project, should it come to pass, will be a major economic boost for Fostoria. In addition, it will make the community much more livable. We hope to be able to report on its continuing progress.