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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
Upcoming road closures are scheduled for Norfolk Southern railroad crossing rehabilitation work, weather permitting. Hague Avenue (north of Valleyview Drive) and Harper Road (west of McKinley Avenue) will close on Tuesday, April 21, 2026. Phillipi Road (south of Fisher Road) will close on Wednesday, April 22, 2026. Each closure is expected to last 3 days. This work is not administered by FCEO.
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Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
The Cooke Road (Karl Road to Cleveland Avenue) Improvement Project is underway. Our contractor, Shelly & Sands, Inc., is actively working on the project. We appreciate their partnership and the work already underway as construction progresses. Stay tuned for updates.
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Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
Today, we had the pleasure of welcoming the all R friends community group to our facility. They visited to personally thank our Snow Fighters for their hard work this winter, helping keep the traveling public safe. The group presented a beautiful thank-you banner and spent time touring our facility and learning more about what we do each day. It was a meaningful visit and a great reminder of the impact our team has on the community we serve. Thank you, All R Friends, for your kindness and for taking the time to recognize our Snow Fighters. We truly appreciate it!
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Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
April is Ohio Native Plant Month! Native plants play an important role in supporting local ecosystems, improving water quality, and managing stormwater, key components of the work we do every day. Incorporating native vegetation along roadways, in drainage areas, and around infrastructure helps create more sustainable and resilient communities across Franklin County.
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Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
We had a great time hosting Student Engagement Day at the Franklin County Engineer’s Office! Students had the opportunity to learn firsthand about the many careers that keep our county moving, from engineering and surveying to operations and maintenance. It was a great opportunity to spark curiosity and highlight the many paths available in public service and infrastructure. Thank you to everyone who participated and helped make the day a success!
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Franklin County Engineer
Franklin County Engineer
Notice to Contractors: We are accepting bids on the Franklin County Engineer’s Office Innis Road, Cleveland Avenue to Westerville Road Improvement Project. Visit: https://www.bidexpress.com/solicitations for more information.
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Franklin County Engineer's Office
970 DUBLIN ROAD
COLUMBUS, OHIO 43215
(614) 525-3030
fracoeng@franklincountyengineer.org
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Surveyor’s Journal Entry Twenty

Surveyor’s Journal Entry Twenty

Meeting the Transportation Needs of a Changing Landscape

By 1850, Columbus had become 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 Franklin County Property and Highway Map, first published in 1842, showed a vast sea of farms, villages, and township communities encircling Columbus, all joined together by an evolving street and roadway system.

It was during this growth that the Franklin County Surveyor’s Office, which had established many of the original roads, adopted the responsibility of highway engineering. It would be the duty of the “county engineer” to represent the board of county commissioners and the State of Ohio in the planning of the area’s first local highways, which included:

Columbus & Portsmouth Turnpike (U.S. Rt. 23, South High Street, Portsmouth-Columbus Road) opened in 1847
Columbus & Harrisburg Turnpike (U.S. Rt. 62, S.R. 3, Harrisburg Pike) opened in 1849
Columbus & Worthington Plank Road (North High Street, U.S. Rt. 23) replacing the Franklin County section of the Columbus &
Sandusky Turnpike opened in 1850
Columbus & Groveport Turnpike ( Groveport Road) opened in 1850
Johnstown Plank Road (Johnstown Road, U.S. Rt. 62) opened in 1852
Columbus & Granville Turnpike (East Broad Street, S.R. 16) opened in 1852
Franklin & Jackson Turnpike (Harmon Avenue, Jackson Pike, S.R. 104) opened in 1852
Columbus & Sunbury Plank Road (Sunbury Road) opened in 1852
Clinton & Blendon Plank Road (Westerville Road , S.R. 3) opened in 1854

These early thoroughfares were operated by incorporated highway companies that financed construction and maintenance costs through stock sales, toll collections, and government appropriations. Transportation financing began as early as 1802 when Ohio started to receive three percent of the net proceeds from the sale of federal land in the state to build roads.

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