City planning new south Columbus I-185 exchange

The Columbus Planning Department is planning a new Interstate 185 exchange to give south Columbus residents better access to the interstate.

Planning Director Rick Jones said the city presented five scenarios to residents at a recent informational meeting, and officials are reviewing the feedback. He expects construction to begin in late 2019 or early 2020.

“The proposal is to put an interchange in at Old Cusseta and I-185, with improvements to Cusseta Road as well,” he said. “We have different concepts of how that interchange could be built. We asked folks to kind of give us their feedback and we’re going through all that information now to make a determination.”

Jones said the new exchange will help accommodate traffic generated by several south Columbus projects, including the construction of the Spencer High School football stadium and soccer complex. The city also is working on several improvement projects in the area, such as the Fort Benning Road streetscape project, a roundabout at Brennan and Cusseta roads, and a recreational trail, he said.

City planners are conducting the project in partnership with the state Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration, which controls the interstate and will have to give final approval, Jones said. The project has already been approved by residents and Columbus Council, and it will be funded through TSPLOST and Transportation Investment Act dollars.

“... If you want to go on the Interstate from that area, from anywhere from Fort Benning Road, Cusseta, whatever, you pretty much have to go up to St. Mary’s and get on it or all the way down to Victory to get on it,” he said. “ For the most part, that area — in my mind — is cut off from any real transportation access down there. We hope we can provide that kind of access to that area and, hopefully, open it back up for some redevelopment opportunities and all the good things that come along with that by providing direct access on to that Interstate.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 5:41 PM with the headline "City planning new south Columbus I-185 exchange."