The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 1 has chosen single-lane roundabout designs to improve the safety of two intersections on state Route 309 east of Lima.

During a public meeting in January, roundabouts were the recommended alternative presented for the intersections of state Route 309 at Thayer Road and state Route 309 at Napoleon Road.

The decision was made after ODOT and its consultant, Jacobs Engineering Group of Cincinnati, gathered feedback on the alternatives during stakeholder meetings and a public meeting.

The roundabouts will be placed at the current intersection locations. The projects are tentatively scheduled for construction in 2022.

“Safety is the driving force for this project and a single-lane roundabout delivers the best safety results,” said ODOT District 1 Deputy Director Chris Hughes. “Nationwide statistics show that converting a two-way, stop-controlled intersection, such as these, to a single-lane roundabout can result in a 40% reduction in total crashes, 75% reduction in injury crashes, and 90% reduction in fatal crashes,” said Hughes.

For more information regarding roundabouts, view a video produced by the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration: https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/intersection/innovative/roundabouts/

The estimated construction cost of the chosen option is $4.5 million. The project is funded by revenue from the gas user fee increase.

“The intersections are being addressed as part of Governor DeWine’s initiative to use a portion of the new revenue to improve safety. For rural intersections, both locations experience crash rates and severity of crashes that are higher than expected compared to intersections with similar conditions and traffic volumes,” said Hughes.

The intersection is one of more than 150 statewide that have been selected by Governor DeWine for review and safety improvements. Improvements range from signal and signage improvements to a complete intersection redesign.

After securing additional funding for transportation infrastructure through the increased gas user fee, Governor Mike DeWine designated an additional $50 million annually for roadway locations, such as intersections, where a project could improve its safety. As a result of the increase, ODOT now has the third largest road safety program in the country. Over the next four years, ODOT will spend $158 million annually on preventing crashes on Ohio roads.

For more information, visit the project website: https://tinyurl.com/SR309Intersections