ASHLAND — Ashland officials welcomed its first and only roundabout back in September, but more of these traffic circles are on the way.
An Ashland Source reader got curious about this recently and reached out to us for answers:
“Have heard from various people that (the Ohio Department of Transportation) will be putting a ‘roundabout’ at the intersection of U.S. Route 42 and State Route 302 in Ashland County in 2023 but delayed until 2024. This intersection is also close to U.S. Route 42 and State Route 604. So will that be joined in the ‘roundabout’ as well?”
Here are the facts, straight from ODOT officials.
Matt Walter, ODOT’s capital programs administrator for District 3, confirmed there are two additional roundabouts in the works for Ashland County. One will be located at the intersection of state routes 89 and 302, and the other is expected to be at the intersection of U.S. Route 42 and State Route 302.
But the answer to the reader’s question of whether State Route 604 is included in this project is no, according to Kaitlyn Thompson, a public information officer for ODOT’s District 3.
“The purpose and need of the project is to address the safety at the U.S. Route 42 and State Route 302 intersection,” she said. The intersection of U.S. Route 42 and State Route 604 only had two documented crashes in the past five years, she added.
Both projects are currently in the design phase, Thompson said, which will last into 2023. When that is complete, crews will work on utility relocation, which could stretch both projects into 2024, when construction is expected to start.
When asked why traffic lights or stop signs would not be placed at these intersections, Thompson said “the most common justification for a roundabout is safety.”
She cited ODOT’s Ohio Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices as outlining criteria that helps the agency in determining what warrants the installation of a traffic light or stop sign.
“During a typical day, the traffic volumes at these intersections are not high enough to warrant a traffic signal or all-way stop control,” she said, adding the additional stops lead to increases in rear-end crashes since traffic was not required to stop before the signal was installed.
“Also, at intersections where traffic signals are not warranted, the installation of a signal often leads to increased vehicle delays and worse intersection operations than before the signal was installed,” Thompson said.
She said roundabouts only have eight potential conflict points, as opposed to 32 at a traditional intersection.
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,” Thompson 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.
“A few of the crashes at each intersection were also caused by drivers running the stop signs,” she said.
Thompson said the intersection of State routes 89 and 302 ranked 59th in the state on ODOT’s 2018 Highway Safety Improvement Program priority listing. She said many other low-cost countermeasures have been installed there in recent years — such as LED stop signs, rumble strips just before the stop signs and signs that read “Cross Traffic Does Not Stop.
“However, the high severity angle crashes continue to occur,” she said.
The projects won’t start construction until 2024 because “that was when funding was available,” Thompson said.
The money is coming from ODOT’s Highway Safety Program.
The roundabout at the intersection of U.S. 42 and State Route 302 is expected to cost around $2.5 million. The other roundabout, at the intersection of State routes 89 and 302 is expected to cost $2.7 million.
Each roundabout will be one lane, like the one built at the intersection of U.S. Highway 250, Cottage Street and Faultless Drive.
This story was written in response to a reader’s question submitted through our Open Source platform.
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