The Winchester Pike bridge over U.S. 33 on Columbus’ Southeast Side will close for more than a year starting Nov. 20, the Ohio Department of Transportation announced in a Nov. 10 media release reported by The Columbus Dispatch. The bridge is expected to remain closed through early 2028 while crews complete a major round of structural repairs.
The work will strengthen the bridge’s piers, upgrade structural components and replace the bridge’s surfacing, ODOT said in the release reported by The Columbus Dispatch. The bridge was first built in 1963 and was last rehabilitated in 1993. Its three major components — the deck, the superstructure and the substructure — are all rated in fair condition in National Bridge Inventory data, and about 10,190 vehicles a day use the crossing.
Drivers will need a new routine for more than a year. ODOT’s recommended detour for northbound traffic during the closure runs from Winchester Pike to James Road, then to Interstate 70 westbound and back to Livingston Avenue and U.S. 33, according to the release reported by The Columbus Dispatch.
Southbound drivers face a different loop: ODOT recommends taking U.S. 33 to State Route 104 and Refugee Road, then back to Winchester Pike. For the neighborhoods and businesses along the corridor, the closure means months of detour traffic on James Road and Refugee Road and longer trips for anyone who crosses U.S. 33 at Winchester Pike daily.
The bridge work is one piece of a larger project. The Winchester Pike repairs are part of ODOT’s U.S. 33/Petzinger Road Intersection Improvements Project, a $22.9 million effort that will add a specialized U-turn to the intersection of U.S. 33 and Petzinger Road and realign U.S. 33, according to ODOT.
The age of the bridge is a big part of the story. A crossing built in 1963 and last overhauled in 1993 has now carried traffic for more than six decades, and ODOT’s plan addresses the structure itself — piers, components and driving surface — rather than a short-term patch, which is why the closure runs into early 2028 instead of a single construction season.
What happens next: the bridge closes Nov. 20, and drivers who use Winchester Pike to cross U.S. 33 should plan on the James Road and Refugee Road detours becoming their normal routes. The crossing is scheduled to stay closed through early 2028 while the repair work is completed.
Photo: Central Avenue, CC BY