$1.4 million state grant will widen shoulder along stretch of Lexington-Springmill Road

Gove said the local effort will be from Home Road on the south end and run north to Marion Avenue Road.

He said the need was identified during a study of the heavily traveled, 55-mile-per-hour corridor done in 2020-2021. The engineer said his department applied for the grant near the end of 2021.

"There are other intersection safety improvements we want to make along that road in the future," Gove said. "But this particular roadside departure grant seemed like one that fit a need there, also.

"This is an area that doesn't have much shoulder and also doesn't have much berm," the engineer said. "There are ditches, brush and trees along the roadway, also."

He said each side of the road will get an additional three to four feet of berm and another two feet of shoulder, a total of about six feet on each side of the two-lane road.

In addition to helping motorists stay on the road, the improvement should also reduce animal accidents in the area, including deer-vehicle crashes.

"It will help open things up so people can more easily see what's along the edge of the road," Gove said.

He said the grant will cover engineering and design of the project, as well as the construction. Gove said requests for design efforts will begin in July and actual construction would begin in mid to late summer of 2024.

"Once we get underway with the design, we will be mailing out property owner notifications that we will be doing survey work in the area," said Gove.

The engineer said there are some residences along the planned improvement area. "There are some mailboxes and driveways that we will have to coordinate with during the process," Gove said.

According to DeWine and ODOT Director Dr. Jack Marchbanks, the grants awarded statewide will invest in new traffic safety improvement projects to specifically address an increase in pedestrian-involved traffic crashes and fatal roadway departures on state and local roads.

According to ODOT, fatal crashes involving pedestrians and roadway departures both hit their highest levels in 2021 when compared to the previous decade.

"This is a serious problem, and we certainly believe that distracted driving is contributing to this alarming increase in pedestrian-involved and roadway departure crashes," DeWine said.

"The funding we're awarding today, most of which is going to local governments, will be used to make the physical changes needed to help prevent crashes, but a cultural change around distracted driving is needed as well."

The $51 million in funding will go toward 44 roadway safety projects in 32 counties. Nearly $30 million, or 58 percent, will be awarded to local governments in municipalities, townships, and counties for projects under their jurisdictions. The remaining funds will be used for projects on ODOT-maintained roads and highways.

One of the other projects is a $5 grant to ODOT District 3 to install and eight-foot buggy lane along Ohio 545 from Ohio 96 to Savannah Road in Ashland County.

The state said the grant is "part of a comprehensive buggy study done by the district" and "a proven countermeasure for preventing roadway departure crashes."