Construction begins on county's second roundabout; closure May 31
Work began this week on the second roundabout to be built in Richland County.
The intersection of Mansfield-Lucas Road with Cook Road and Illinois Avenue will close May 31 for at least 75 days for the project, according to Adam Gove, the county's engineer.
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The new roundabout is expected to be opened to motorists sometime in the middle of August.
"It should be a simple one to use," Gove said. "You're only looking at one lane of traffic."
The engineer said Shelly and Sands out of North Jackson was awarded the construction contract with a bid total of $1,308,181.41, and that KE McCartney from Mansfield was awarded a contract to perform construction inspection with an hourly rate not to exceed $135,716.
Of those numbers, Gove said 90% of the construction costs will be covered by a federal safety grant administered by the state and 90% of the inspection costs will be covered by a grant administered by the Richland County Regional Planning Commission.
Similar to Mansfield's roundabout
The roundabout will be close to Madison South Elementary School and should be completed by the start of classes in the fall.
Posted detours for Mansfield-Lucas will take motorists down Mansfield-Washington and Hull roads. Commercial traffic will be routed down Ohio 39.
While designing the new project, engineers evaluated the roundabout that connects Middle Bellville and Straub Roads within Mansfield city limits.
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"A lot of people feel that one is too small of a circle," Gove said. "We did take that into consideration and this one will be larger."
Gove said his reports show that the number of injury wrecks at the segue of Middle Bellville and Straub roads has gone from several per year to none over the nearly four years since the roundabout was built.
Designed to reduce severity of wrecks
Data suggest that roundabouts in general are safer than standard intersections.
"It reduces the conflict points where traffic would cross each other," Gove explained. "It reduces the severity of accidents because you're not crossing — they tend to be a side swipe, and the traffic is going slower."
That's a big reason why the roundabout is being built at the intersection of Mansfield-Lucas with Cook and Illinois instead of other intersections within the county's jurisdiction.
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"It is the highest accident location for county roads over the past several years," Gove said. "They tend to be severe accidents because they are T-bone type accidents that happen there."
The roundabout is also expected to make traffic flow more smoothly since motorists will not be sitting at the intersection for an extended period of time.
"They are more efficient," Gove said. "You only have to stop if there's somebody inside the circle."
Yield while entering the roundabout
Many drivers in Richland County have likely already had experience with the county's existing roundabout, which the engineer hopes will make implementation of the new roundabout a smooth one.
"The biggest thing is making sure that you're yielding to those who are already in the circle, already in the roundabout," Gove said.
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The new roundabout will be only one lane, so drivers need not worry about changing lanes once inside.
"Remember that the car that’s already inside the circle has the right of away," Gove said. "Those entering need to yield to those in the roundabout."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Construction begins on county's second roundabout; closure May 31
