(The Center Square) – Ohio continues to spend taxpayer dollars to build roundabouts throughout the state, an effort officials say will reduce crashes and save lives.
The state announced another $63 million to projects in 14 counties to improve roadway safety, including 12 new roundabouts, along with several cable barriers.
“Every project we do has an element of safety built in, but these projects were specifically selected and funded because we know they will save lives and reduce the chance of a serious crash,” Ohio Department of Transportation Director Pamela Boratyn said.
The Transportation Department says roundabouts are a proven safety measure for reducing severe crashes, pointing to studies by the Federal Highway Administration that show roundabouts achieve a 44% reduction in crashes and reduce serious injury and deadly crashes by nearly 90% at two-way stop intersections.
When roundabouts replaced traffic signals, Highway Administration found a 48% reduction in crashes and a nearly 80% drop in serious injury and deadly crashes.
According to the state Transportation Department, roundabouts have lower entry speeds compared to traffic circles and have a yield at every entry point that leads to lower speeds and no weaving.
“We’re always looking at how we can make our transportation system safer,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “These projects will make improvements that will help reduce the number of crashes, making it safer for those who travel in these areas each day.”
Also, a University of Dayton study found Ohio’s median cable barriers were 74% effective at reducing total crashes and 80% effective at reducing fatal and injury crashes.
The study also found that 95% of cable median barrier crashes resulted in vehicles being stopped or bounced by the cables rather than penetrating the barrier.
The counties receiving funding for the safety projects include Ashtabula, Williams, Wood, Allen, Wyandot, Richland, Medina, Summit, Stark, Tuscarawas, Franklin, Montgomery, Warren and Hamilton.