The ramp from southbound Interstate 270 to westbound Route 33 in Dublin reopened overnight. Contractors added pavement to realign the ramp, which was weakened by excavation for an interchange reconstruction project.

Update: The ramp from southbound Interstate 270 to westbound Route 33 in Dublin reopened overnight.

Contractors added pavement to realign the ramp, which was weakened by excavation for an interchange reconstruction project.

Original story:

A major ramp on the Outerbelt in Dublin has been closed for safety reasons.

Ohio Department of Transportation engineers made the decision Wednesday evening to close the ramp from Interstate 270 south to Route 33 west toward Marysville.

ODOT is in the midst of a $70 million project to improve that interchange, which started last year and is scheduled to finish in 2017.

As part of the project, excavation recently started for the new ramp, just to the north of the existing ramp for Interstate 270 south to Route 33 west.

Because of the land's slope and heavy rain expected today, there was concern that the existing ramp could become unstable, said Drew Griesdorn, ODOT's project manager for the interchange improvement.

"The important thing is we had to close because the potential for instability is there," said Nancy Burton, an ODOT spokeswoman.

Complete General Construction, the contractor for the project, will start work on realigning the ramp by moving it a few feet to the south and shoring it up with asphalt, Griesdorn said.

He said it's hoped that the ramp can be reopened within a week. He did not know yet what the additional cost will be.

The ramp is a busy one, averaging 2,000 cars per hour during the morning and evening rush hours.

There are two detour options: Those traveling from Interstate 270 south can exit at Sawmill Road, go south to Route 161 and connect to Route 33 west. The other option is to stay south on Interstate 270 and exit at Tuttle Crossing Boulevard and then go north on Interstate 270 to Route 33 west.