For Grove City residents on either side of Interstate 71, getting across Hoover Road on foot or by bike is about to get a lot easier. City officials broke ground today, June 15, on a new pedestrian bridge that will carry people and bicycles over I-71 at Hoover Road. The LinkUS-backed project carries a price tag of about $2.2 million and is meant to reconnect neighborhoods split by the freeway while extending continuous sidewalks and a shared-use path.
City engineers say crews will load most of the heavy work into the summer months to avoid clashes with school traffic and keep construction tied to lower-volume travel times. Once finished, the crossing is designed to give residents on both sides of I-71 a safer, more direct walking and biking route.
Regional partners mark the start
Leaders from the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission, COTA, and Grove City gathered at the intersection of Orders Road and Hoover Road for a short groundbreaking ceremony to mark the start of work. William Murdock, MORPC's executive director, called it “one of the most effective collaborations Central Ohio has ever seen,” and COTA spokesman Jeff Pullin said the bridge is part of a broader push to deliver on promises to better connect communities, according to ABC6/WSYX.
Funding and LinkUS context
The Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission's LinkUS capital program lists the Hoover Road Pedestrian Bridge with $2.2 million in funding and identifies it as a short shared-use crossing tying together both sides of I-71, according to the LinkUS TSI capital improvement plan from MORPC. LinkUS, the region's transit-supportive infrastructure initiative, has outlined plans to invest in more than 500 miles of sidewalks, bikeways, and trails and to deliver the first 150 miles through projects scheduled over the next several years, as detailed by LinkUS Columbus. The Hoover Road bridge is one of the early, targeted investments meant to strengthen short, safe links to transit and neighborhood destinations.
Traffic impacts and construction timing
Grove City's public-works team says construction crews have begun mobilizing and have posted lane closures and detours affecting the northbound lanes at Holton and Orders roads. The city lists the northbound closure roughly from June 3 through August 19, according to the road-closure updates from the City of Grove City. The work will repurpose the center turn lane to carve out space for a wider, pedestrian-friendly path and will add barrier planters and safety fencing. Drivers are being urged to follow posted detours and prepare for delays near the work zone while bridge and path construction is underway.
Timeline and what to expect next
Project partners say residents should start to see the new crossing and adjacent paths take shape as crews complete the bridge structure and tie it into the surrounding sidewalks and bikeways. The city expects the Hoover Road pedestrian crossing to be “completed at the beginning of this upcoming year,” according to remarks at the ceremony reported by ABC6. Officials say the work will be sequenced to limit disruption while other LinkUS-funded projects move forward around the region.
Why this matters for Grove City
COTA's board approved nearly $30 million to support sidewalks, bikeways, and trail projects, according to COTA. MORPC's LinkUS capital program shows dozens of additional projects scheduled across Central Ohio through 2030, giving local leaders tools to help stitch neighborhoods back together, according to MORPC. Planners say smaller links like the Hoover Road bridge are meant to make transit more useful and neighborhoods more walkable as the region prepares for continued growth. Residents can track construction updates and LinkUS project pages for the latest detour maps and schedules as work progresses.
