Van Wert County’s new roundabout is open to traffic

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

Van Wert County’s second roundabout is now open.

As expected, the single-lane roundabout at U.S. 224 and Lincoln Highway, just west of the Van Wert city limits, opened to traffic midday on Friday. The project, which began in late July, ran a bit behind schedule due to heavy rains in September.

Before roundabout construction began, the intersection was identified as a high-crash volume/dangerous intersection.

Roundabouts may not be popular with some in the motoring public but statistics show while crashes do occur in them, they’re almost always minor in nature.

“The acceptance of roundabouts can lag in areas where roadways rarely change,” ODOT District 1 Deputy Director Chris Hughes said in a previous story. “You introduce a vastly different concept like a roundabout where stop signs and traffic signals rule, and it’s understandable why some motorists are hesitant. The goal is always to reduce the number of injury and fatal crashes.”

Crashes have gone down at the site of Van Wert County’s first roundabout, which opened in 2022 at U.S. 224/U.S. 127/Marsh Rd. Between 2019-2021, there were 10 crashes at the former intersection. Since the roundabout opened in August of 22 and through 2025, there were six crashes, a 40 percent reduction.

While the new roundabout is open, nearby U.S. 224, between U.S. 30 and Lincoln Highway remains closed for rehabilitation of the bridge over the railroad. That project also began in late July 30, with an estimated completion time of six months.

Two more roundabouts are scheduled to be built in the coming years, one at U.S. 224 and Van Wert Decatur Rd. in Van Wert, and the other at Ohio 118 and Wren Landeck Rd. north of Ohio City.