Columbus motorists should expect road closures and traffic backups Thursday due to several events occurring downtown.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Columbus motorists should expect several road closures and traffic backups Thursday due to several events occurring downtown.

President Obama will be in Columbus for the Ohio Democratic Party State Dinner Thursday evening and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump will in town for a private event. The Columbus Blue Jackets have a home game Thursday night to add to the potential traffic problems downtown.

Details on these events and others in Columbus that may cause major delays Thursday:

Ohio Democratic Party State Dinner:

President Barack Obama will be attending the Ohio Democratic Party State dinner at the Greater Columbus Convention Center at High Street and Convention Center Drive. Doors are expected to open at 4:30 p.m. and the event starts at 6:30 p.m.

Air Force One is expected to land at the John Glenn Columbus International Airport Thursday around 6:50 p.m. For security reasons the Secret Service will not release the President's route, but our traffic team expects to see delays and rolling road closures on Interstate 670 westbound around that time.

Air Force One is expected to depart from the airport around 8:30 p.m. in the evening which means you'll probably start to see similar closures around 8 p.m.

Security considerations will also restrict traffic Thursday on Nationwide Boulevard and access to the Convention Center’s east and west connector turnarounds.



Best Guess: If the President takes I-670 to the State Dinner, you'll want to think about taking Interstate 70 or Broad Street on your way home.

Columbus Blue Jackets:

Just around the corner from the Convention Center, the Columbus Blue Jackets will begin their season as they take on the Boston Bruins at 7pm at Nationwide Arena. In addition to the rolling road closures from the State Dinner on High Street, you will see additional delays on High Street and Nationwide Boulevard.

You'll want to leave early because we do anticipate very slow traffic in Downtown Columbus.

Parking: It's probably going to be hard to find a parking spot as well.

Reserve Arena District Parking: http://arenadistrictparking.clickandpark.com/

Downtown Parking Meter Map: https://www.columbus.gov/parkingmetermap.aspx

All American Quarter Horse Congress:

All American Quarter Horse Congress' Mercuria World Series of Cutting takes place at the Ohio Expo Center at 6 p.m. We do expect to see slow drive times on I-71 north and southbound near the 17th Street Exit as a result.

Think about taking SR-315 as an alternate to I-71.

You could also save time by taking Cleveland Avenue.

Motorists not attending these events are advised to avoid the Arena District and to consider alternate routes. Those attending the events should allow extra drive time.