ODOT shares options for improving congested Holmes County intersection - details here

The Daily Record | Kevin Lynch 

Six alternatives to alleviate traffic congestion and reduce the chances of crashes at a busy intersection just west of Berlin were presented to residents during a meeting in Holmes County.

Representatives from the Ohio Department of Transportation addressed traffic solutions for the area of U.S. Route 62/state Route 39, state Route 557 and County Road 201 that included turn lanes and roundabouts.

"The biggest thing is to view these project designs and provide your feedback to us," Lauren Borell, ODOT public information officer for District 11, said at the meeting at Keim Conference Center in Charm. "We really want to know what the public feedback is on this vital project. We're here to improve safety."

Aaron Prichard, Kimley-Horn & Associates engineer and project consultant for ODOT, explained the no-build option and five alternative choices, design options and costs.

"The purpose and need of the project is designed to improve safety and traffic operations at two intersections that are fairly close together," Prichard said. "We looked at a number of different solutions, including adding exclusive turn lanes, installing turn lanes or constructing roundabouts, among other things."

Mitigating crashes and reducing congestion at the two intersections is the goal and the "two big need elements are, first of all, safety and then alleviating congestion and improving the level of service," Prichard said.

Here are the five alternatives and the no-build option

Prichard explained the five alternative options as well as the a no build option.

No build means no improvements are being proposed, he said. That would mean leaving existing conditions at the site. There would be no need for property acquisition or utility impacts. And no construction costs.

Alternative 1: Add left turn lane on Route 62; cost - $1.85M

Left turn lanes would be added on routes 62/39 in the east and westbound lanes, using stop signs. The proposal would mitigate rear-end crashes with only minor improvements to traffic operations. It also would be the least expensive option.

Alternative 2: Turn lanes and a traffic signal; cost - $2.65M

Turn lanes and a traffic signal would be added, which would improve traffic flow on state Route 557 and County Road 201. It would, however, increase the potential for rear-end collisions on US Route 62. It also would be slightly more expensive than alternive 1.

Alternative 3: Roundabout and upgraded traffic signal; cost - $3.32M

A roundabout woule be built at routes 557 and 62, and an upgraded traffic signal with turn lanes would be installed at County Road 201. The alternative meets the purpose and need, improves safety on Route 62 and state Route 557 by creating fewer conflict points.

Alternative 4: Roundabout, bypass and turn lanes and signal; cost - $3.82M

A roundabout would be built at state Route 557 with bypass lanes, as well as turn lanes and a traffic signal at County Road 201. The proposal meets the need and purpose of the project with improved traffic operations with minimal environmental impacts, but doesn't reduce the potential for rear-end collisions and creates a greater speed differential between cars and buggies at merge points.

Alternative 5: Roundabouts at Route 557 and County Road 201; cost - $4.45M

Roundabouts would be built at state Route 557 and U.. SRoute 62 and at County Road 201. It meets purpose and needs of the project with the greatest improvement in safety compared to all other alternatives. The biggest drawbacks to this alternative are the cost as well as the need to acquire more than four acres of property.

According to ODOT Real Estate Administrator Stephen Lucas, they do not expect any problem procuring the property needed at a fair and equitable price.

History of the project

Borell said ODOT initally was approached in 2021 by the Holmes County commissioners about safety at these intersections. ODOT started looking at it and kicked off a full intersetion improvement study. Funding for the project has been secured through the state.

"Originally they had requested traffic signals," she said. "Safety is our No. 1 priority at ODOT, so we wanted to go at this with a full on study and that is why we're here.

"We will take the feedback from the public and come up with a final alternative for the project by July of this year," Borell continued. "We'll move forward and construction will begin in 2028."

Information from the meeting is available at transportation.ohio.gov

The next step

Through June 5, ODOT will gather and review the comments from the public. At that point, ODOT and Kimley-Horn & Associates will evaluate the data.

"Public feedback is very important to us, especially smaller communities like Holmes County," Borell said. "All of the feedback will be applied toward the final decision. We are going to go with the safest alternative. That is the biggest reason we're here.

"We appreciate our partnership with the Holmes County commissioners," she added. "They have been very passionate about this project for the safety of Holmes County. We've had very healthy discussions on this project."