Columbus drivers who white-knuckle their way around the I-270 Outerbelt now have data to back up their nerves. A fresh look at state crash records points to a handful of problem spots, and one short run near the U.S. 23 interchange stands out for sheer volume, just as major reconstruction continues at the I-270/I-71 interchange on the city’s north side.
According to Ohio State Highway Patrol figures, the most crash-dense segment of the Outerbelt is a short stretch of I-270 between U.S. 23 and Huntley Road, the part that crosses railroad tracks along the Worthington and north Columbus border. That run logged 311 crashes in the period reviewed. Fridays and Saturdays each saw 58 crashes, and the single worst hour was the evening rush from 5 to 6 p.m., with a notable share of collisions involving drivers ages 15 to 24 and drivers older than 55, as reported by The Columbus Dispatch…