Governor Mike DeWine (R) (above) and the Ohio Department of Transportation recently highlighted the investment of $61 million in funding for 27 new traffic safety projects in numerous counties statewide.
[Above photo by the Ohio Governor’s Office]
This round of funding from the Ohio DOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program includes the installation of Restricted Crossing U-Turns or RCUTs, roundabouts, sidewalks, and other safety measures.
“Safe roadways are essential to connecting people and businesses across Ohio,” the governor noted in a statement. “With the investments made in these projects, we will help save countless lives on Ohio’s roads.”
[Editor’s note: The governor and Ohio DOT also recently issued $3.5 million to 10 Transportation Improvement District or TID projects, covering project development and construction costs in 2024, 2025, and 2026. That funding – largely for roadways maintained by local governments, such as municipalities, township trustees, or county engineers – aims to help “attract new companies to invest in Ohio” while both creating and retaining jobs, the agency noted.]
As part of that $61 million investment, 17 new roundabouts will be added in Ohio – a roadway design proven 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, Ohio DOT said.
Those roundabouts are also designed with large trucks and farm equipment in mind, the agency pointed out, 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, which reallocates a cross-section of an existing roadway to better serve all modes of travel – including walking, biking, and driving. “Our top mission is to ensure that our roadways are built to be as safe as possible,” explained Ohio DOT Director Jack Marchbanks. “The measures we’re implementing with this program further that mission not only on roadways that Ohio DOT maintains, but those maintained by local partners too.”
States
Nebraska DOT Profiled in Two-Minute Update Video
November 22, 2024
States
