Cannon Drive construction nears finish line

A major construction project at The Ohio State University is closing in on completion.

Crews are nearly finished with the construction for the relocation of Cannon Drive, with the road expected to open at the end of June.

“We’re about 85 percent complete with construction. Our last step is to open that last section between 12th Avenue and [John] Herrick Drive,” said Tom Ekegren, senior project manager for the Office of Facilities Operations and Development. “Once that’s opened, the sum of the road will be done.”

The project is part of Ohio State’s Framework 2.0 master plan. The new Cannon Drive will help provide flood protection, create 12 acres of developable land and a north-south connection between King and Lane avenues, and will add green space in the Olentangy River corridor.

“The move of Cannon Drive is really about protecting the university and, primarily, the health sciences district and the medical center from the 100- and 500-year flood events,” said Mark Conselyea, associate vice president for FOD.

The project began Sept. 5, 2017, and the first phase of construction is expected to run through autumn 2019. Part of the project is a pump house powered by three massive pumps that can drive 27,000 gallons of water per minute away from the campus and back into the river.

“By doing this project it raises the protection of the campus and removes the hospital from that floodplain,” Ekegren said. “Phase one is what we’re doing now between King Avenue and John Herrick Drive. It takes that first step to take it out of that floodplain.”