County slated for roundabout

AUGLAIZE COUNTY- The intersection of I-75 and U.S. Route 33 is slated to undergo a major reconstruction after the county received a $4.7 million Ohio Department of Transportation Highway Safety Improvement Program grant to implement safety improvements.

In the grant application from ODOT District 7, which services Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Logan, Mercer, Miami, Montgomery and Shelby counties, officials recommended the elimination of a divided highway configuration and reducing the highway from four lanes to two lanes from the I-75 overpass east because there are two lanes at Wapakoneta-Fisher Road and U.S. Route 33.

As part of the improvements, ODOT will also eliminate a merge from the southbound I-75 ramp to U.S. Route 33 so the exit will have its own lane. Lighting is also planned for the roundabout. The project is slated for fiscal year 2027.

Auglaize County Engineer Andrew Baumer said he welcomed the changes. Although drivers may be wary of roundabouts, he said education and driving cautiously will be paramount as drivers acclimate to the change.

"Talking with other engineers across the state that have implemented roundabouts, it's kind of an education at first, making sure drivers and everyone understand how the roundabouts work and then getting everyone slowed down and used to them," he said.

Baumer agreed a roundabout will reduce conflict points or decisions that drivers have to make. He said the lane reduction will give more room for the roundabout, which will help drivers exiting the northbound I-75 ramp and heading west on U.S. Route 33.

"It was always a mess, having to cross four lanes of traffic to get across there," Baumer said. "Of the whole interchange, this was definitely the bottleneck and the worst area."

ODOT highway safety coordinator Mary Hoy in the funding application said the measures will force drivers to drive more slowly as they navigate the roundabout.

An ODOT crash study of I-75 and U.S. Route 33 from 2017-2021 showed 41 crashes occurred at the interchange. The grant application recommended a roundabout and lane reduction on U.S. Route 33 near the I-75 overpass to reduce crashes and make roads safer.

The crashes in the study included two fatalities at the intersection of U.S. Route 33 and the I-75 northbound ramps. Both of those crashes were angle crashes involving semitractor-trailers.

About a third (29%) of crashes at the intersection were angle crashes, according to the study. Angle crashes are crashes where two or more motor vehicles impact at an angle.

Baumer said a common question is if there will be enough room in the roundabout for semitractor-trailers. He said ODOT runs models to ensure the roundabout will be wide enough to accommodate semitractor-trailers, school buses and even farm machinery.

Baumer said the project will need to go through the public hearing process, although a timeline for a public hearing has yet to be determined.