After several long months of construction, the I-670 innerbelt on Columbus’ east side is now open, with a first of its kind "Smart Lane".
The Smart Lane includes with nine huge signs 60 feet long and 10 feet high. This seven-mile corridor features 39 cameras that are monitored in the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Statewide Traffic Management Center.
The Smart Lane opens when traffic is flowing slower than 45 miles an hour, and closes when it speeds back up. Here's some more informationon how the Smart Lane works.
And ODOT director Jack Marchbanks said if this goes as planned, more Smart Lanes are coming.
“Our timeline is that we’re looking at this project over the next 18 months. We’re looking at, in 2021, 2022 rolling out more projects, perhaps another one here in central Ohio, Interstate 71, and on 275 in the Cincinnati-Sharonville area," Marchbanks said.
The SmartLane project on I-670 in Columbus cost around $61 million. But ODOT says most of that was for the redesign of an interchange on the freeway.
