ASHLAND — Ed Meixner described roundabouts as expensive, but effective.
A circular intersection has been recommended as a safety improvement where Main Street meets Baney Road in Ashland County, Meixner, the county’s engineer, said Thursday.
“In terms of traffic accidents, it’s the one we get the most complaints about,” Meixner told the Ashland County Board of Commissioners. “It is considered one of our worst intersections.”
Commissioner Michael Welch said that with housing development projects underway near the intersection, traffic in that area is likely to increase.
“I can attest there’s been plenty of accidents out there because I’ve found a lot of pieces and parts (of vehicles) in the field,” Welch said.
The Ashland County Board of Commissioners unanimously approved and entered into a contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation on Thursday for the installation of a roundabout at the intersection of Main Street and Baney Road.
What will it cost the county?
Meixner said studies of the intersection occurred in 2015, 2021 and again in 2025.
The study in 2025, completed by Columbus-based Carpenter Marty Transportation, recommended the installation of a roundabout, he said. The civil engineering firm also recommended the county seek federal funding for the project through ODOT.
Meixner told commissioners the project is estimated to cost $3 million — about $2.1 million coming from construction costs and the other $900,000 from engineering work.
The county was successful with its grant application, the county engineer said, with the federal government committing to pay 80 percent of project costs. The state has also pledged to pay 10 percent out of its highway safety funds.
“That would just leave our local 10 percent match, so at this point it would cost the county about $300,000 based on the estimates that we have,” Meixner told the board.
The county will cover its local match using dollars from its highway fund, according to the board. There is time for the county to pursue additional funding sources, such as through the Ohio Public Works Commission, Meixner said.
He shared a preliminary sketch of what the roundabout may look like, explaining the area is largely surrounded by farmland in three corners of the existing intersection.
Additional work that will accompany construction is environmental studies and some right-of-way purchases, Meixner said.
The federal and state funding is not available until fiscal year 2029, he told commissioners, estimating construction of the roundabout could begin in June 2028.
“We’d be in a position that we could go to construction at that point,” Meixner said.
