MANSFIELD — Adam Gove has his funding for a second county roundabout, this one a $3 million project at the intersection of Lexington-Springmill and Home roads.
Gove, the Richland County engineer, said his office will receive $2.7 million in an Ohio Dept. of Transportation safety grant for the project, one of about two dozen roundabouts recently announced for statewide funding.
Richland County, which recently built its first roundabout for $1.5 million at the intersection of Cook Road/Illinois Avenue and Mansfield-Lucas Road, applied for state funds at a site Gove said has been identified as one of the most dangerous in the county.
During a Richland County Regional Planning executive committee meeting in September, Gove said there have been eight accidents at the intersection in 2022, including one fatality.
“It’s averaging six-plus accidents a year (at the intersection) for the last five years,” Gove said. “There are a couple of other locations through (that corridor) where we have seen an increase in accidents.
“We are starting with Home because that has been the worst one out of four or five intersections in that area,” Gove said.
He said a recent traffic study found people headed south on Lexington-Spingmill in that area were consistently traveling more than 60 miles per hour in an area designated 45 to 50 mph. Gove said one motorist was speeding in the upper 90s coming down the hill toward Home Road.
That speed, coupled with people not stopping on Home Road before entering the intersection, has led to the accidents.
The engineer said the state agreed with the proposed roundabout solution.
“They had nothing but good things to say about our application,” he said.
The local money is part of $121 million in new traffic safety projects Ohio recently announced.
“A top priority of my administration has been making travel in our state safer — particularly at Ohio intersections that are known to be dangerous,” Gov. Mike DeWine said.
“Studies show that roundabouts significantly reduce the likelihood of serious or deadly intersection crashes, so we’re investing in these projects today to save lives in the future.”
Gove said with ODOT supplying 90 percent of the funds, the county will have to supply 10 percent — $300,000 — to cover the remainder of the design and construction costs.
The project will include the relocation of a portion of the B&O Bike Trail that crosses Lexington-Springmill near the intersection.
Gove said the design of the project should start this winter or next spring.
“There are some steps we have to take to select a consultant and be on board with ODOT,” the engineer said.
Gove said the design work will take most of 2023 and that gaining needed right-of-way easements and utilities will be done in 2024.
Actual construction of the roundabout is planned in 2025, Gove said. This one will be designed differently from the one on Cook Road/Illinois Avenue and Mansfield-Lucas Road due to its T-type intersection.
The intersection is included in the busy Lexington-Springmill corridor that has already received a $1.4 million state grant to widen the shoulders of the two-lane road between Home Road and Marion Avenue Road.
According to ODOT, there were only six traffic deaths at Ohio roundabouts from 2017-2021 compared to 1,126 deaths at a signalized or stop-controlled intersection.
“Roundabouts save lives. They reduce severe crashes, move traffic more efficiently, and are cheaper to maintain than signalized intersections,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks.
