Stretch of Front Avenue closer to reopening to traffic

The stretch of Front Avenue between 13^th and 14^th Streets could be reopening to traffic soon.

Among the items on Columbus Council’s agenda for Tuesday’s meeting is an agreement between the city and the W.C. Bradley Co., which owns the stretch of road and the land on either side of it, that would grant the city access to the road so it could be reopened to traffic.

Donna Newman, the city’s director of engineering, estimates the street will reopen sometime in January.

The stretch has been closed to traffic since the city ceded ownership of it to Fieldcrest Mills in 1996 in exchange for the right of way needed to build the 13^th Street Bridge. W.C. Bradley bought Fieldcrest in 2003. It has for year been used as a construction staging area for a variety of downtown projects.

Even though the street will be reopened to traffic, it will remain possession of the Bradley Co. for the time being. Once the land around it has been developed, the street will be ceded over to the city, which will be responsible for maintenance.

The stretch begins under the 13th Street Bridge and ends at the 14th Street roundabout and the base of the Frank Martin Pedestrian Bridgee.

This story was originally published December 12, 2016 at 11:17 AM with the headline "Stretch of Front Avenue closer to reopening to traffic."