TROY TOWNSHIP — A roundabout five years in the planning will happen this spring/summer at the intersection of Lexington-Springmill and Home roads.
The Richland County Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved county Engineer Adam Gove’s request to seek bids for the construction project, estimated to cost about $3 million.
A separate $591,755 design contract for the roundabout was awarded to EMHT of Columbus in 2023.
Grant funds from the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Public Works Commission will cover 90 percent of the costs for the project, according to Gove, who said about $350,000 in local funds will be needed.
Companies may submit bids for the work beginning Tuesday. Bids will be opened in the engineer’s office on March 12 at 10 a.m.
The project will close the road for about 120 days and the B&O Trail at that location for 90 days, according to Gove.
The signed detour will utilize U.S. 42, Trimble Road and Park Avenue West, according to Gove.
“We realize those familiar with the area will find a shorter detour,” he said.
The work, which Gove first talked about with commissioners in 2022, must be complete by the end of October, he said.
The engineer has told commissioners studies have shown that intersection to be the most dangerous in a traffic corridor between Lexington and Ontario that is one of the busiest in the county.
A traffic safety study done by EMH&T in 2021 examined crash trends along a three-mile segment of Lexington-Springmill Road from Cockley Road to Marion Avenue Road.
“The study identified the segment as an area of focus due to the crash frequency and operational concerns at some of the intersections along the corridor. From 2017 to 2019, the study area experienced 95 crashes with the majority being rear end crashes near intersections,” the study found.
(Below is a PDF with a traffic study made public in 2021 looking at crashes along the Lexington-Springmill Road corridor between Cockley Road and Marion Avenue Road.)
Gove has said previously the intersection at Lexington-Springmill and Home roads averaged more than six injury accidents per year between 2017 and 2022, including one fatality.
“This was the most accident-prone intersection. We wanted to start with the worst one first and then we’ll kind of work our way south to the the other intersections (in terms of finding solutions),” Gove said.
“The cost of this roundabout is more than you would see for a typical roundabout and that’s because it involves two bridge replacements,” the engineer said.
“We do feel that this is the best solution for that intersection,” the engineer has said. “A roundabout is going to be the safest and the most efficient.”
It will be the third roundabout constructed in Richland County.
The county’s first roundabout at the intersection of Cook Road/Illinois Avenue and Mansfield-Lucas Road was constructed in 2022. That intersection was closed for around 75 days while the work was done.
The city of Mansfield built its first roundabout in 2012 at the intersection of Middle-Bellville and Straub roads at a cost of $500,000. It’s the only such structure in the city.
Commissioner Cliff Mears asked Gove about the need to close the bike trail during construction.
“We looked at options to keep it open temporarily,” Gove said. “Obviously that’s a hindrance to the bike trail and a lot of people use that section of the bike trail.
“We did not take that decision lightly. We looked at other options and this is definitely the best for safety for workers, for users of the trail, and then also for timeliness, getting the project done,” he said.
Commissioner Tony Vero asked Gove about concerns residents have expressed about northbound trucks being able to reach the top of the hill beyond the roundabout.
“It is a concern. I know we have trouble with trucks getting up that hill. We had one this winter that got stuck. I think he maybe even had to back down,” the engineer said.
“But we feel there’s enough of a level spot coming out of that roundabout (that a truck) should be able to keep a little bit of speed going through a roundabout should be able to build up some speed and then get to the hill,” Gove said.
“Are they going to be going slower up the hill? Possibly. But I don’t think there’s an issue with them getting up the hill,” he said.
If a traffic signal or stop signs were used at the intersection, that could make it even more difficult for a truck to clear the hill, according to Gove.
The engineer said the three-legged roundabout will be identical in lane size to the one at the intersection of Cook Road/Illinois Avenue and Mansfield-Lucas Road, which has proven to be an effective traffic control device.
The single-lane traffic control device helped to reduce accidents by 40 percent at the intersection, averaging three per year, ODOT said in January 2025.
Perhaps more importantly, there had 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.
Gove said actual closure dates, including the B&O Trail, will be determined once a contractor is selected.
“When we have a contractor, we can sit down for a pre-construction meeting and get all our dates figured out,” the engineer said.
more related news on local roundabouts
Commissioners plan to reduce size of mental health board
Vero said Thursday that commissioners will seek to reduce the size of the Richard County Mental Health and Recovery Services Board to nine members from its current 14.
He said commissioners appoint county residents to many different boards and it’s “not the easiest of tasks to find board appointments.”
“The mental health board is one of our largest,” he said, adding it currently has four openings — two appointed by commissioners and two appointed by the state mental health director.
Commissioners are responsible for appointing nine members and the state director, operating at the suggestion of the county mental health director, appoints five. He said the four current vacancies are equally divided between commissioners and the state.
Vero said state law allows commissioners to reduce the size of the board and he proposed doing that. Mears and Commissioner Darrell Banks agreed.
“Smaller boards get things done. Larger boards talk … and we need things to get done. I’m in favor of, following the law to get to a smaller board,” Banks said.
Vero said he would attend the mental health board meeting next week to discuss the topic.
If the board is reduced to nine, six would be appointed by commissioners and three by the state, according to Vero.