The Ohio Department of Transportation says its expansion of U.S. Route 33 in Athens and Meigs counties is still on track to finish in fall 2028, despite record rainfall this year in southeast Ohio. An ODOT engineer gave the update this week, saying work has continued on the project that started in 2025.
The project costs $274 million and will add two lanes to 25 miles of U.S. 33 in the two counties. When it is finished, the route will be four lanes wide all the way from Columbus to the Ohio River, according to ODOT. The sections under construction are the last remaining two-lane parts of that route.
ODOT District 10 public information officer Ashley Rittenhouse said truck traffic makes up a large portion of the vehicles on U.S. 33 from Athens toward West Virginia. Rittenhouse said the expansion will stop cars from having to pass trucks on a two-lane road and risk a head-on crash. ODOT also expects traffic to increase after the expansion, as drivers are drawn to the new lanes and higher speed limits.
ODOT District 10 construction engineer Cary Betzing gave an update on the work completed so far in an Oct. 16 email. In Meigs County, crews have installed more than 40,000 feet of drainage, placed 7,500 tons of rock and completed 1 million cubic yards of excavation. In Athens County, crews have completed most of the project’s major drainage work and 1.7 million cubic yards of excavation and embankment, Betzing said.
For drivers who use the route now, ODOT said traffic impacts so far have been limited to lane closures, orange barrels, temporary traffic signals and occasional side road closures. The department posts ongoing traffic impacts for the project on its website, so drivers can check conditions before they travel through the work area.
Rittenhouse asked drivers to focus on safety in the work zone. Work zones can bring changing speed limits and lane closures, and drivers should not be distracted behind the wheel, Rittenhouse said, noting that people are working in the zone who want to get home at the end of the day.
The expansion has been planned for years. ODOT has said it secured the right of way for the work more than 20 years ago, and earlier project announcements described two parts, one between Athens and Darwin and another between Five Points and the Ohio River across from Ravenswood, West Virginia. For residents and businesses in Athens and Meigs counties, the next step is continued construction through the fall 2028 completion target ODOT reaffirmed this week.
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