Shier Rings Road shared-use path breaks ground as part of LinkUS multimodal investment

The stretch of Shier Rings Road between Eiterman Road and Cosgray Road has been a gap in Dublin's off-street path network — a rider or walker had to leave the path and re-enter road traffic to bridge it. That changes in October 2026, when a 1,730-foot shared-use path on the south side of the road closes the gap and creates a continuous off-street route from Avery-Muirfield Drive to Cosgray Road.

Leaders from the City of Dublin, the Central Ohio Transit Authority, Washington Township, Ohio University and the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission put shovels in the ground Friday, Sept. 18, on the $709,934 project. Construction is already underway.

The LinkUS money

The path is an on-the-ground piece of LinkUS, the regional transportation and growth plan backed by the Franklin County sales-tax increase voters approved in November 2024 as Issue 47, with about 57% of the vote, raising COTA's sales-tax share from 0.5% to 1%.

Washington Township received a $544,300 Transit Supportive Infrastructure grant from LinkUS sales-tax funding, covering most of the $709,934 total project cost.

COTA's Board of Trustees approved nearly $30 million in 2026 funding for 37 sidewalk, bikeway and trail projects, a package that includes the Shier Rings Road shared-use path.

Where it goes

The path connects the residential and commercial area around Eiterman Road and Cosgray Road to the COTA Route 73 corridor, linking roughly 7,000 nearby residents to COTA bus stops. Route 73 serves the area, connecting local destinations including the Dublin Dale Dr Park and Ride and Dublin Metro Place.

The corridor also runs near Ohio University's Dublin campus in the West Innovation District, and the university plans to eventually extend University Boulevard southward to connect to Shier Rings Road.

Who's on the hook

Washington Township is the path's home turf — the groundbreaking was at its administration building at 6200 Eiterman Road — and the township received the $544,300 grant that funds most of the project. The money comes from LinkUS sales-tax funding approved by COTA's board. The City of Dublin, led by Mayor Chris Amorose Groomes, is a named partner in the groundbreaking.