Dangerous intersections to be addressed

VW independent staff/submitted information

LIMA — As previously reported, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 1 has secured construction funding for two projects that will address safety at four intersections along the U.S. 30 corridor in Van Wert County.

District 1 officials have now confirmed the following projects will be constructed in 2026 or 2027, at a combined cost of nearly $8.5 million, along with plans for other dangerous areas.

Along the State Route 49 section near the village of Convoy, two restricted crossing U-turns (RCUT) at:

• U.S. 30 and State Route 49/Payne Road.
• U.S. 30 and State Route 49/Convoy Heller Road.
• The removal or modification of the intersection at U.S. 30 and Dixon Cavett Road.

Along with those changes, a single lane roundabout will be constructed at the intersection of U.S. 224 and Lincoln Highway.

“We are excited to be able to bring RCUTs to U.S. 30 in Van Wert County,” said Chris Hughes, ODOT District 1 deputy director. “We constructed an RCUT in Allen County at U.S. 30 at Thayer Road in 2021 and have seen a dramatic reduction in crashes and injury severity.”

With an RCUT, traffic crossing the divided highway makes a right turn, continues downstream, makes a legal U-turn, and returns to exit the highway. RCUTs on divided four-lane highways create safer intersections by simplifying driver decisions and reducing the total number of conflict points. They are a cost-effective way to reduce injury and fatal crashes while maintaining all turning movements.

“This section of U.S. 30 has experienced some of the highest numbers of severe crashes in northwest Ohio and we are now in a position to do something about it,” said Hughes.

Just south of U.S. 30 on the west side of the city of Van Wert, safety funding was awarded for a single-lane roundabout at U.S. 224 and Lincoln Highway.

Single-lane roundabouts are a proven safety measure that improve the flow of traffic while slashing injury and fatal crash numbers.

“The U.S. 224 and Lincoln Highway intersection is a crucial access point to U.S. 30 that needs improvement based on crash data,” said Hughes. “In addition, the U.S. 30 feasibility study completed earlier this year identifies this location as an important component in our plan to eliminate access points along the corridor,” he said.

Projects along the corridor for which ODOT is currently seeking construction funding include:

• An overpass on Convoy Road over U.S. 30.
• A connection between Liberty Union Road and the existing U.S. 224 interchange on the north side of U.S. 30.
• An RCUT at the intersection of U.S. 30 and John Brown Road.

The locations are a part of a feasibility study of the U.S. 30 corridor completed in 2023 to identify long-term and short-term strategies to improve safety along the corridor. The study examined U.S. 30 from the Indiana state line in Paulding County to the Lincoln Highway interchange and provides a set of safety improvements to begin implementing within the next 10 years.

The long-term goal is to eliminate all 18 at-grade intersections along this section of the U.S. 30 corridor — a plan that may not be fully implemented for several decades as the need arises and as funding becomes available.

While the feasibility study included input from local officials, stakeholders, and the public, additional public involvement will be conducted as these projects are developed and decisions are made regarding specific design details for each improvement.