Topic: Roberts Road Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI)

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A congested interchange in the midst of a heavily traveled industrial, commercial, and residential area has received a major overhaul. The previous diamond interchange at I-270 & Roberts Road in Columbus, Ohio has been transformed into a Diverging Diamond Interchange (DDI) – an emerging and cost effective roadway solution designed to improve safety, reduce crashes, and ease congestion. It is the first DDI constructed in the state of Ohio and was the 23rd in the United States.

The previous diamond interchange had geometric design deficiencies and a high frequency of congestion-related crashes. The former interchange also couldn’t handle the high volume of traffic that travels through it – including a large amount of trucks that drive area commerce.

Some key components of the I-270/Roberts Road DDI include:

• No right-of-way acquisition
• No environmental impacts
• Dedicated bike lanes through the interchange – first in the U.S.
• Dual turn lanes for large trucks
• Design of DDI merged with a maintenance design project for the overhead bridges that was already underway
• Extensive public involvement and education process
• Full closure of the bridges through the interchange; four-month construction schedule
• $10.6M construction cost

This presentation will discuss the intricacies of the planning effort, the key aspects of the design, and lessons learned during both design and construction. As the Project Manager of the design team, Mr. Toombs will provide insight about design and construction, including lessons learned during various points in the process.