eastside industrial connector

Since the 1950’s the City of Lancaster has recognized the bottleneck in the state highway network that occurs in the heart of the city. Numerous studies have been completed and shelved. The congestion grows and the options get more challenging as the city develops.

A recent planning study, completed by American Structurepoint and funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Lancaster Port Authority. The study identified a corridor — the East Side Industrial Connector — that would reduce commercial traffic on Main Street and improve access to the industrial land on the east side of Lancaster.

An analysis of comprehensive data from Streetlight Data, provided by the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC), showed about half of the traffic on Main Street is passing through, and most of that is using one of these routes, 37N, 33S, 22W, 33S and 22/37E.

The Eastside Industrial Connector is a 6-mile corridor that requires the upgrade of three miles of existing streets (Canal, Lawrence, Duffy, Commerce and Quarry) and three miles of proposed streets that connect to all five federal and state routes in the city, improving connectivity to the Fairfield Medical Center, the Historic Downtown District, the Eastside Industrial Park and neighborhoods south of SR-22.

The Eastside Industrial Connector would provide a faster connection for the Eastside Industrial Park to SR-33 to better access interstates. This industrial park is home the City of Lancaster’s 50 acre JobsOhio Certified site, JKB Innovation Park, as well as other shovel ready land. Linking the Eastside Industrial Park will not only attract new industrial users to the eastside, adding more good paying jobs to a unique labor shed, but it will also support existing employers such as Blue Label, Post Holdings, Cirba Solutions, Alleguard, CFM Global and Babcock and Wilcox, who continue to grow and expand in the city of Lancaster.

The Eastside Industrial Connector is consistent and supportive of the City of Lancaster’s planning initiatives such as the Southern and Western Gateways. The City of Lancaster and Lancaster Port Authority are actively seeking funding for this ambitious $50-million transportation initiative.  It will benefit the entire region and require the cooperation and support of all levels of government.

Click HERE to view the report,