Columbus LinkUS Reaches 90% Design on West Broad BRT as City Council Evaluates Major Affordable Housing Bond Package

LinkUS Milestone: West Broad BRT Submits 90% Engineering Design to FTA

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Accelerating the greatest transit modernizations in Central Ohio history, the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) and the City of Columbus released the September 2026 LinkUS Progress Report, unveiling major engineering benchmarks across the region's rapid transit corridors. Engineering teams officially submitted the 90 percent final civil design for the West Broad Street Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Corridor to the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) for Small Starts grant evaluations.

The West Broad corridor will feature dedicated center-running transit lanes, level platform boarding, off-board fare collection, and transit signal priority, reducing transit travel times between western Franklin County and downtown Columbus by over 30 percent. Parallel engineering progressed on the East Main Street BRT and Northwest BRT corridors along Olentangy River Road.

City Council Advances Deliberations on Landmark Housing Bond Package

Complementing rapid transit expansions, the Columbus City Council, led by Council President Shannon Hardin and Housing Committee Chair Tiara Ross, convened detailed public hearings in late September 2026 on a comprehensive Affordable Housing Bond Package. The proposed bond directs hundreds of millions in municipal capital toward the construction and preservation of mixed-income housing directly along rapid transit routes.

The bond program aligns with the ongoing implementation of Zone In, the city's historic zoning code overhaul. By pairing modern, transit-supportive zoning with dedicated bond financing, Columbus ensures developers construct dense, walkable workforce housing within walking distance of high-capacity BRT stations.

Transit-Supportive Infrastructure Projects Break Ground Regionwide

COTA and municipal public works departments also advanced 37 transit-supportive infrastructure projects funded for 2026, including new protected shared-use paths, ADA-accessible sidewalks, and intersection safety retrofits across Franklin County. Transportation leaders emphasized that creating seamless pedestrian access to transit stations builds a safer, cleaner, and more connected Columbus for generations to come.