MANSFIELD — Putting the word “roundabout” in front of many people is like tossing chum to sharks.
All they see is red.
Or whatever color they associate with anger.
But, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation, a $1.5 million roundabout at the intersection of Cook/Illinois and Mansfield-Lucas roads has greatly reduced accidents since it opened in August 2022.
The single-lane traffic control device has helped to reduce accidents by 40 percent at the intersection, averaging three per year, ODOT said on Thursday.
Perhaps more importantly, there have been zero injury crashes at the site, according to the state.
From 2015 to 2018, data showed the two-way, stop-sign controlled intersection had 21 total crashes — averaging five per year. Of those, 15 resulted in injuries, ODOT said.
When a 2018 Richland County Regional Planning Commission study identified the Madison Township intersection as the sixth worst in the county overall — and the worst among those under the county’s jurisdiction — Richland County Engineer Adam Gove sought funding for ways to make it safer.
He applied and was awarded safety funding through ODOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program.
The program is aimed at reducing traffic deaths and serious injuries on public roads. Funds are available for projects in all stages of development and usually require a 10 percent local match.
ODOT funds supplied about $1.2 million of the $1.3 million roundabout construction cost. A grant from the Richland County Regional Planning Commission covered 90 percent of inspection costs.
“The ability of the county to use safety funds administered by ODOT made the improvement to this dangerous intersection a reality in a timely manner,” Gove said.
“Without this program, the county would have had to delay this project until other funding could be obtained,” he said.
“While only the second roundabout in Richland County (the City of Mansfield constructed the first in 2012 at the intersection of Straub and Middle-Bellville roads), the simple design of a single-lane roundabout has proven effective in reducing crashes and injuries, while maintaining the efficiency of this busy intersection,” Gove said.
More roundabouts are on their way around Richland County.
A third is in the planning stages at the intersection of Lexington-Springmill and Home Roads with construction in 2026.
Officials are also considering a roundabout at the intersection of Middle Bellville and Orchard Park.
Three more new state-funded traffic roundabouts are headed to Richland County in the next five years, including one in Ontario.
The single-lane roundabouts, totaling about $10.6 million in construction costs, were announced in October by Gov. Mike DeWine and and Ohio Department of Transportation Director Pamela Boratyn.
The local projects are part of a $63 million statewide investment “dedicated to projects that improve roadway safety,” DeWine said at the time.
Roundabouts are planned in 2029/2030 at the intersections of:
— Rock Road and West Fourth Street in the City of Ontario at a cost of $3,276,000.
— Ohio 96 and Ohio 545 at a cost of $3,800,000.
— Ohio 314 and Millsboro Road at a cost of $3,600,000.
All of the projects will come via state funding.
In his announcement, DeWine said roundabouts are a proven safety measure for reducing severe crashes.
Studies by the Federal Highway Administration show that roundabouts achieve a 44-percent reduction in crashes and reduce serious injury and deadly crashes by nearly 90 percent at two-way stop intersections.
When roundabouts replaced traffic signals, FHWA found a 48-percent reduction in crashes and a nearly 80-percent drop in serious injury and deadly crashes.
“If you are against roundabouts, you are against traffic safety,” ODOT spokesman Matt Bruning said. “You can blow a stop sign … you can miss a light … but you can’t fail to slow down when entering a roundabout.
“Love them or hate them, they work,” he said.