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Franklin County Engineer

As a local public works agency headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, the Franklin County Engineer's Office is responsible for the maintenance and construction of 271 miles of county roadway and 351 county bridges, as well as upkeep of all county ditches, drains, retention basins, and other storm water facilities within the right-of-way of county roads in unincorporated areas. To meet the continuing development and infrastructure needs of Franklin County, the Engineer's Office utilizes the latest technologies for determining and maintaining roadway centerlines and boundaries; retracing and setting new monuments for original public land surveys; preparing geographic information system mapping for real estate tax assessments; and establishing precise countywide horizontal and vertical control to maintain uniformity in construction, surveying, and mapping.
Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
The 2025 Township Resurfacing Program is underway across participating townships. While overall work areas are set, activity within each location may vary based on the scope of work and weather conditions. Please drive with caution in work zones and follow posted signage. Thank you for your patience as we work to improve the roads in your community!
Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
Beach Road, west of Amity Road, will be closed beginning Monday, July 7, 2025, for bridge maintenance work. The closure will last approximately ninety (90) days, weather permitting.
Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
The Franklin County Engineer’s Office had a blast at this morning’s WABA - Westland Area Business Association Independence Day Parade! It was great to see so many smiling faces and celebrate with the community ahead of the holiday. Thanks for the warm welcome. We love being part of this tradition!
Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
Leppert Road, between Hayden Run Road and Scioto Darby Road, is now open to traffic.
Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
The road closure for bridge rehabilitation work on Harrisburg-Georgesville Road over Big Darby Creek, between London-Groveport Road and Opossum Run Road, initially scheduled to begin Monday, June 30, 2025, has been delayed to Monday, July 7, 2025. The closure will last approximately one-hundred eighty (180) days, weather permitting.
Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
The West North Broadway 1.18 over Olentangy River project is currently underway. Our contractor, Complete General Construction, is actively working on Phase 1 of construction while bridge improvements continue. Stay tuned for updates as the project progresses.
Franklin County Engineer's Office
970 DUBLIN ROAD
COLUMBUS, OHIO 43215
(614) 525-3030
fracoeng@franklincountyengineer.org

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Highway Chronicle Chapter 6

Highway Chronicle Chapter 6

Demands for Better Travel Lead to Road Alternatives

boats
train

Columbus was becoming a major commercial and government center noted for its financial and legal institutions, the state penitentiary, restaurants, hotels, shops, buggy and carriage works, breweries, foundries, textiles, rock quarries, agriculture, and livestock.

The rising prosperity created new challenges to the highway system that would ultimately lead to a public outcry for different and more efficient modes of transportation.

A viable alternative was the Ohio & Erie Canal, located between Cleveland and Portsmouth, completed in 1832 at a cost of $4.2 million. The 308-mile long waterway passed through Canal Winchester and Lockbourne, and was linked to Columbus by an 11-mile long feeder canal. The local channel system, fed by the Scioto River and Big and Little Walnut Creeks, was a major freight and passenger route that provided mud-free travel until its closure in 1904.

The slow, horse drawn canal boats were overshadowed by the “iron horse” railroads that began operation in Ohio in the 1850s. Notable railroads, such as the Baltimore & Ohio, and the Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati & Indianapolis, would monopolize long distance freight and passenger travel throughout the nation for nearly a century, establishing Columbus as a key station, roundhouse, and freight yard location.