NANKIN — Construction of two roundabouts planned at unsafe intersections along State Route 302 are slated to begin Monday, state and local officials have said.
Two intersections — U.S. Route 42 and State Route 302, and State Route 302 and State Route 89 — will close starting Monday.
Construction is expected to last possibly through October.
Both roundabouts will convert the current two-way stop sign into a single-lane roundabout.
Traffic will be detoured by taking State Route 302 west to State Route 301 north to U.S. Route 224 west to State Route 58 south to State Route 302. The route can be traveled in reverse.
Ohio Department of Transportation has said access to the intersections will be maintained for residents only.
“The State Route 302 eastbound direction at each intersection will be closed to traffic, so all residents will need to enter the zone from the westbound site,” reads an announcement issued by ODOT earlier this week.
The roundabouts planned for U.S. 42 and State Route 302 has been estimated to cost $2.5 million. The other, down the road at the intersection with State routes 89 and 302, could cost $2.7 million.
Why roundabouts?
Studies by the Federal Highway Administration show that roundabouts have reduced crashes by 44% and reduced serious injury and death by nearly 90% when compared to two-way stop intersections.
“When roundabouts replace a traffic signal, FHWA found a 48% reduction in crashes and a nearly 80% drop in serious injury and deadly crashes,” Kaitlyn Thompson, an ODOT spokeswoman, has said.
She said both intersections have experienced a “high frequency” of crashes and a “high occurrence” of injury and fatal crashes during a review period from 2014 to 2019.
The majority of the crashes were “angle type crashes” from drivers approaching the stop sign who fail to yield before entering or crossing the roadway.