MANSFIELD — One of the most accident-prone street intersections in Mansfield will receive a $770,000 traffic signal upgrade, 83 percent of which will be paid for through a state grant.
The project at the busy intersection of Trimble Road and Park Avenue West will be done over the next two to three years, according to City of Mansfield engineer Bob Bianchi.
A $639,000 state grant to help fund the work was announced Thursday by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Ohio Department of Transportation Director Jack Marchbanks, one of more than than two dozen road safety projects announced that target areas with a history of severe and deadly crashes.
According to ODOT, crashes at intersections account for roughly 30 percent of all traffic deaths each year, killing 362 people in 2023 and 104 people so far this year
“When it comes to our roadways, safety will always be our top priority,” DeWine said. “Our goal is to save lives by investing to improve dangerous intersections.”
The projects were identified in 22 counties with a total cost of $87 million, including 19 new roundabouts.
Bianchi credited ODOT District 3 officials, headquartered in Ashland, for helping to identify the Mansfield intersection, drafting the grant application and pushing for its approval.
“District 3 gets 100 percent of the credit for this grant,” he said.
“(ODOT District 3 transportation engineer) Katherine Wade called me and pointed out the Park Avenue West/Trimble Road intersection is on the list for highest intersection accident rates in Ohio.”
(Photos and video were taken and recorded Thursday around 4:30 p.m. at the intersection of Park Avenue West and Trimble Road. The story continues below the images and video.)
Bianchi said there were 56 accidents at the intersection during a five-year period between 2018 and 2022.
Of those, one was a fatal accident, two resulted in serious injuries, six involved minor injuries and nine others had possible injuries, according to Bianchi.
The remaining 38 resulted in property damage, but no injuries.
Bianchi said a traffic study was done in 2023, showing 14,200 cars on Trimble Road each day and another 14,600 on Park Avenue West.
Wade told him safety grant funding may be available to make the intersection safer.
“I asked if we could could jump to the most extreme improvement, high-cost improvement, that we could possibly do, which would include a roundabout at this intersection with grade improvements and site distancing improvements,” Bianchi said.
“But that was going to be very expensive and that’s not how this program operates typically,” he said.
Studies by the Federal Highway Administration show roundabouts achieve a 44-percent reduction in crashes and reduce serious and deadly crashes by nearly 90 percent at two-way stop intersections.
When roundabouts replace a traffic signal, FHWA found a 48-percent reduction in crashes and a nearly 80 percent drop in serious and deadly crashes.
The city engineer said the grant program normally starts with lower-cost solutions in the near term before larger, higher-cost measures are implemented.
Bianchi said a new, higher-visibility traffic signal and pedestrian improvements will be made at the busy intersection.
“Signal-head visibility is a concern at this intersection,” the engineer said, “the ability to clearly identify and see the traffic signal from all four directions.”
The project will include new poles, arms, signal heads, backplates with reflective material, supplemental signal heads and new higher-visibility crosswalks across Trimble Road,
Bianchi said the project would also likely seek to turn the driveway into out of the the Walgreens on the northwest side of the intersection a “right in, right out” movement.
Bianchi said once funds are secured through ODOT District 3, he will ask Mansfield City Council to allow him to seek bids for a project designer. That design process would take around 18 months, he said.
After that, he said, bids for a contractor would be sought. Construction would take another 18 months, including lane closures from time to time as the work progresses.
“I don’t anticipate a full (intersection) closure,” Bianchi said. “There will also most likely be a law enforcement office on the site directing traffic at times during the project.”
He said the city’s portion of the project would cost around $130,000, which would come from a share of the city’s permissive sales tax.
That includes 10 percent of the project costs (around $70,000) and 100 percent of the construction inspection costs (around $60,000), he said.