Flatbed tow truck from Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc loading a car near Columbus
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I-270 Towing All the Way Around the Columbus Outerbelt

Inner loop or outer loop, Tuttle Crossing or Easton, Hamilton Road or Roberts Road: give dispatch your direction and exit and we come to you.

Call (740) 812-9489

I-270 towing is a big job geographically: the outerbelt circles Columbus, crossing I-70 twice, I-71 twice and every major road out of the city, and it touches more of our service area than any other road. Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc works the whole loop, from the US-62 interchange next to our Harrisburg Pike yard, around through Hilliard, Dublin, Worthington, Westerville, Easton, Gahanna, Whitehall and Reynoldsburg, and back across the south side past US-23. If your car has stopped on I-270, stay buckled in with the hazards flashing and call 911 first if you are in a lane or anyone is hurt. Then call (740) 812-9489 and tell the dispatcher which exit you passed and whether you were going clockwise or counterclockwise; on the outerbelt that is the detail drivers most often get wrong. Calls on the southwest quarter of the loop are usually in our 15–30 minute tier, most of the rest 20–40 minutes, and the far northeast stretch can run 40–60. Those are estimates; dispatch gives you the live number.

Call (740) 812-9489 · Request a tow now (SOS) · Get an online quote

Southwest: our home stretch

Our yard sits just inside the outerbelt near exit 2, where US-62 and SR-3 cross I-270. That makes the southwest quarter of the loop the quickest part of the area for us to reach, and it is where a lot of our late-night highway calls start. From there the loop runs north past exit 7 at US-40 and Broad Street, the Galloway and Hollywood Casino side of town, and on to exit 10 at Roberts Road.

Heading east from exit 2 instead, the south side of the loop runs toward the I-71 interchange at Grove City and then across to US-23 at exit 52, South High Street, near Lockbourne. Commercial traffic is heavy along this side, and if your vehicle is bigger than a pickup or is pulling a trailer, tell dispatch the size so the right truck comes.

West side: Hilliard, Tuttle Crossing and Dublin

Up the west side, exit 13 at Cemetery Road and Fishinger Boulevard serves Hilliard, exit 15 at Tuttle Crossing Boulevard serves the mall and the offices around it, and exit 17 at US-33 and SR-161 is the main Dublin interchange. Rush hour backs these up in both directions, and a car that overheats or runs out of fuel in a backup is a regular call here.

Ramps on this side tend to be long, with traffic merging at speed from US-33. If you stall near one, stay off the ramp and out of the merge area, and call 911 if you are in a lane. For a flat at the mall end, the Mall at Tuttle Crossing towing page covers the lots.

North side: US-23, Worthington and Westerville

Across the top of the loop, exit 23 at US-23 is signed for Worthington, Delaware and Toledo, and the I-71 interchange follows a few miles east. For streets and lots inside that city, see our Worthington towing page. Exit 29 at SR-3 sits on the Blendon–Columbus line and is signed for Westerville, and the stretch between Cleveland Avenue and State Street runs along Westerville's southern edge.

North-side calls are a mix of commuter breakdowns and winter slide-offs on the ramps and curves. If your car is in the ditch but upright and nobody is hurt, a winch-out, billed at $150 an hour, often puts the car back on the pavement without a tow.

Northeast and east: New Albany, Easton and Gahanna

On the northeast corner, exits 30A and 30B at SR-161 are signed for New Albany. Exit 32 is Morse Road, which a recent State program widened from four to seven lanes through the interchange, and exit 33 serves Easton through collector-distributor lanes it shares with the SR-161 exit. Those shared lanes are confusing at night, so if you broke down near Easton, say whether you were on the main line or the side lanes.

Exit 35 at I-670 and US-62 is the airport and Gahanna interchange, and for the mall itself our Easton Mall towing page explains the garages and lots. This corner is the farthest part of the loop from our yard, so plan on the longer end of the estimate.

East and southeast: Whitehall, Reynoldsburg and US-33

Down the east side, exit 37 at SR-317, Hamilton Road, serves Whitehall and the roads toward the airport, and exit 41 at US-40, Main Street, is the Reynoldsburg interchange. The I-70 crossing follows, and then exits 46A and 46B connect to US-33 toward Bexley and Lancaster.

Southeast calls often come from drivers heading out of town on US-33 who never made it past the outerbelt. If the car will not make the trip, tell dispatch where it is going; a tow to your own mechanic, even one in another county, is priced from the same per-mile rate.

What an outerbelt call costs

An I-270 tow is $4 a mile en-route from our yard, a $125 hook-up and $7 per loaded mile, plus the $75 highway charge, and a call between 10 PM and 6 AM adds $150. A jump start or tire change on the shoulder is a flat $75 plus en-route miles and the highway charge. The rate card shows every line.

Because the yard is on the loop, en-route miles for an outerbelt call are usually modest compared with a call from a far suburb. Dispatch quotes the full total before the truck rolls, and the price does not change because the call came in at rush hour.

Inner loop or outer loop: how to describe where you are

On a ring road, north and south flip depending on which side of the city you are on, so the most reliable description is the last exit you passed and the next one coming up. Clockwise and counterclockwise work too, if you are sure.

  • The last exit number or street name you passed, and the next one ahead
  • Clockwise or counterclockwise, or the direction printed on the last sign
  • Right shoulder, left shoulder, ramp or collector lanes
  • Whether the car is electric, all-wheel drive or towing a trailer
  • Where the car should go if it needs a tow

I-270 Outerbelt: common questions

Frequently asked questions

Who do I call for I-270 towing on the Columbus outerbelt?

Call 911 first if you are stopped in a lane or anyone is hurt. Otherwise call Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc at (740) 812-9489, any hour, and give the last exit you passed and your direction. We cover the whole loop.

How fast can you get to me on I-270?

Our yard is beside the southwest part of the loop, so calls there are often in our 15–30 minute tier. Most of the outerbelt is 20–40 minutes, and the far northeast corner near New Albany and Easton can run 40–60. Those are estimates; dispatch tells you the live number.

How much does a tow from the outerbelt cost?

$4 a mile en-route, a $125 hook-up, $7 per loaded mile and the $75 highway charge, plus $150 between 10 PM and 6 AM and Ohio sales tax for the pickup county. You hear the total before the truck rolls.

I don't know if I'm on the inner or outer loop of I-270. What do I tell dispatch?

Give the last exit you passed and the next one ahead, such as 'after Tuttle Crossing, before US-33.' That pins down the side of the road without needing to know north, south or which loop you are on.

Can you change a flat tire on I-270?

Yes, when the shoulder is wide enough to work safely; the technician sets up cones and lights first. If it is not, we move the car to the next ramp or a safe spot, or tow it to a tire shop if there is no usable spare.

My car broke down near the Easton exits. Which exit do I give?

Exit 33 serves Easton through collector-distributor lanes shared with the SR-161 exit, and exit 32 is Morse Road. Tell dispatch which of those you were near and whether you were in the side lanes or on the main line.

What is the Ohio State Highway Patrol number on I-270?

In an emergency, call 911. For a non-emergency on the interstate, the Highway Patrol answers at #677 from a cell phone. Then call us for the truck.

Are you the towing company for ODOT or the police on I-270?

No. We are independent and tow when a driver or owner calls us. If the police had a car removed from the outerbelt, they can tell you where it went.

Related help

Nearby and related

Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc is an independent towing company and is not affiliated with the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, any shopping center named here or the City of Columbus.

Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc (dba Columbus Roadside Towing).
Corporate office (private, no walk-ins): 3879 Regatta Ct, Lewis Center, OH 43035
Tow yard & impound lot: 1620 Harrisburg Pike, Columbus, OH 43223
(740) 812-9489 · chris@columbusroadsidetowing.com

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