ODOT I70 and SR315 Tree Clearing
In April 2024, ODOT contractors removed every tree along Thomas and Green South of Sullivant in the ODOT right-of-way. While ODOT’s guidelines state that they are only required to clear a 30-foot area from the guardrail, they instead cut as far as 80, 90, even 100 feet out, leaving a completely clear-cut area.
You can find the technical manuals with their own internal standards here:
1. Clear Zones 2. Vegetation Management Permitting
Removing 30ft of vegetation would have left all of the trees outside of the yellow area
Instead, this is what happened:
ODOT cited multiple and shifting justifications for clearing:
Removal of invasive species (though native species were also cut)
Improving access for highway maintenance and emergency services (even in areas with steep slopes)
Addressing unhoused encampments (a deeply problematic justification)
General deferred maintenance
What has been planted?
After clearing, ODOT seeded the slopes with non-native grass species and indicated they do not plan to mow or manage this area moving forward.
Next steps and fencing timeline:
In subsequent meetings with community members, ODOT indicated they would replace fences along the highway corridor. Only after the fences are replaced will they consider maintenance in those areas complete, and allow residents to replant vegetation. However, in early 2025, they pushed the fence replacement back to Fall 2025 — without notifying the community — delaying replanting efforts by an entire year.
Community Response
Community members secured hundreds of free seedlings from Green Columbus.
Planting will begin along Green Street in Spring 2025.
A vacant lot at Bellows and Green will be used as a nursery to grow some seedlings into larger trees.
As soon as fencing is replaced, planting will begin along Thomas Avenue.