Columbus Region Network of Knowledge, New Opportunities, and Technology (N. KNOT) - FY26 BUILD Planning Grant Application

This application is seeking $18.5 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT’s) Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program for a planning grant to fund the preliminary engineering and final design for the SR 315 at Kinnear Road and Medical Cener Drive phase of the Columbus Region Network of Knowledge, New Opportunities, and Technology (N. KNOT) regional transportation infrastructure project; and it is proposing a local match of $4,735,251. The Columbus Region N. KNOT project is a regionally significant project that directly supports the more than $3 billion being invested in statewide economic development and research at the Innovation District at Ohio State, a significant expansion of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, and implementation of the LinkUS Northwest Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor.

Columbus, The Ohio State University (Ohio State), and the Franklin County Engineer (FCEO) have already invested $1.2 million towards initial planning and project development. Preliminary estimates indicate the cost of planning, designing, and constructing all improvements conceptualized to date will cost approximately $250,000,000. The scale of this transportation investment is significant, but so is the scale of rewards from the economic and transportation investments supported by this project. The Innovation District at Ohio State alone aims to create 20,000 new jobs in the Columbus Region and fuel $3 billion in statewide economic impact.

The scale of the overall Columbus Region N. KNOT project has required it to be phased: one phase is the SR 315 at Lane Avenue phase; and the other phase is the SR 315 at Kinnear Road and Medical Center Drive phase. The Ohio Department of Transportation’s (ODOT’s) Transportation Review Advisory Council (TRAC) has just recommended Columbus Region N. KNOT: SR 315 at Lane Avenue phase receive project development funding as part of ODOT’s Major New Capacity Program. TRAC has a statutory mandate to oversee the prioritization and approval of funding projects that have costs exceeding $12 million; increase capacity or reduce congestion; and are critical to the mobility, economic development, and quality of life for the citizens of Ohio. ODOT has identified the Columbus Region N. KNOT project overall as a project that meets this legislative mandate through its funding recommendation for the SR 315 at Lane Avenue phase. Columbus is requesting USDOT also recognize the importance of overall Central Ohio N. KNOT project to Ohio, and award the SR 315 at Kinnear Road and Medical Center Drive phase an $18.5 million BUILD planning grant to fund its preliminary engineering and final design.