$8.5 million going to road safety measures

VW independent staff/submitted information

Two of Van Wert County’s more accident-prone intersections are getting substantial safety upgrades.

One of the projects has been long rumored – a single lane roundabout on U.S. 224 Lincoln Highway, just west of the Van Wert city limits. The roundabout will serve as a countermeasure to reduce speeds and prevent severe crashes, and it will be the second roundabout in Van Wert County. The projected cost is $2.97 million. Construction is expected to begin in fiscal year 2027.

The second project calls for the construction of two restricted crossing U-turns on U.S. 30 at Ohio 49, and Payne and Convoy Heller roads. In addition, plans call for the removal of the median at Dixon Cavett Road. State officials said the new configuration will prevent severe crashes at high speed intersections. The projected cost is $5.4 million and work is scheduled to begin during fiscal year 2027.

Those projects are among 27 new traffic safety projects slated to take place in the future. A total of $61 million in funding has been earmarked for the projects. This round of funding from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Highway Safety Improvement Program includes the installation of Restricted Crossing U-Turns (RCUT), roundabouts, sidewalks, and other safety measures.

“Our top mission is to ensure that our roadways are built to be as safe as possible. The measures we’re implementing with this program further that mission not only on roadways that ODOT maintains, but those maintained by local partners too,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks.

As part of the program, 17 new roundabouts will be added in Ohio. Roundabouts are a proven design to reduce crashes by more than 48 percent, and more importantly serious injury and deadly crashes by nearly 80 percent when compared to a signalized intersection. The roundabouts are designed with large trucks and farm equipment in mind and will include a “truck apron” in the middle that allows larger vehicles to ride up over a curb as they navigate through.

Other safety measures include a roadway reconfiguration, known as a road diet. This seeks to reallocate the cross-section of an existing roadway to better serve all modes of travel, including walking, biking, and driving.

The projects were selected by a committee made up of ODOT staff with a background in funding and program management, safety analysis, traffic operations, roadway design, and highway management.