Please, somebody tell NCDOT to expand Exit 291.
I can't wait for the food, like what's coming to Columbus, Ohio:
Ikea's opening crowds could force closings of Interstate 71 exits - News - The Columbus Dispatch - Columbus, OH
Ikea is expecting 10,000 to 15,000 customers a day during the first week, which begins June 7 at its new location at the northeastern corner of I-71 and Gemini Place in the Polaris Centers of Commerce. [Fred Squillante/Dispatch file photo]
Wednesday
Huge crowds are anticipated for the grand opening of Ikea’s Columbus store next month — so big that Columbus police say they could be forced to close several Interstate 71 exit ramps.
Based on past openings of popular retailers and on other Ikea openings across the country, the Swedish home retailer is expected to draw 10,000 to 15,000 customers a day during the first week, which begins June 7 at its new location at the northeastern corner of I-71 and Gemini Place in the Polaris Centers of Commerce.
Eager customers probably will begin lining up at the store on June 5, 48 hours in advance of the opening, Ikea officials said.
“We have been working with local authorities ... for many months already (on traffic issues), which is standard for us,” said Joseph Roth, Ikea spokesman.
Supplemental parking lots with shuttle service to the store will be available in case Ikea’s 1,200-space parking lot fills up. If that happens, police will redirect all traffic exiting I-71 at Gemini Place and intending to go east to instead go west on Gemini, toward supplemental parking.
Plans also are in place to address excessive highway traffic, said Lt. Paul Weiner, who oversees traffic operations for Columbus police.
“We don’t want any high-speed crashes,” Weiner said. “That’s our biggest concern.”
If northbound traffic on I-71 backs up to I-270, police will close the exit ramps to Polaris Parkway and Gemini and send traffic to the next exit, five miles north: Routes 36/37 to Delaware or Sunbury.
If southbound traffic on I-71 backs up, police will close the exit ramps to Polaris and Gemini and send traffic to the I-270 exit or the Route 161 exit.
“We’re hoping not to have to pull the trigger on that,” Weiner said. “That’s kind of the worst-case scenario. We wouldn’t close all the ramps at one time. Just like we do for Ohio State football games, we’ll close ramps for a short term.”
During the first three weeks of the Ikea opening, Columbus police special-duty officers will be on hand to control traffic, primarily on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
With so much traffic expected during the first week, employers in the Polaris area are being encouraged to instruct employees to work from home if possible during that time, officials said.
Merchants in the Polaris area “will be screaming if they close both exits,” said Heinz Ellrod, owner of fashion retailer Godfrys in the Polaris Lifestyle Center. “There are businesses up here that can’t afford to have traffic blocked for a week or two.
“If they close Gemini, that could be a real problem. But we’ll get through it. I opened this store in 2008 right after the collapse, and no one showed up.”
This will be Ikea’s second store in Ohio and the 44th in the United States.
The 354,000-square-foot store is similar in design to Ikea’s first Ohio store, in West Chester. It will have 50 room settings, three model-home interiors, a supervised children’s play area and a 450-seat restaurant serving Swedish specialties such as meatballs with lingonberries and salmon.
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