New roundabout at Route 113 and Baumhart closing for repairs

HENRIETTA TWP. — The new roundabout at Baumhart Road and State Route 113 will close Saturday for repairs. It opened in November 2021. Drivers will have to find a detour from about 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Ohio Department of Transportation said. Work is expected to be completed in one day. Kaitlyn Thompson, spokeswoman for ODOT District 3, said the repairs are "typical of any resurfacing project." But unlike a straight road, flaggers can't be used to keep traffic moving while the work is being done, she said. The major fix sounds like more than a routine punchlist item. There are deficiencies in the asphalt surface of the roadway, including bumps, Thompson said. Workers will mill off and replace an inch and a half of blacktop on the roundabout, she said. Grading must also be done on an adjacent ditch that isn't draining quickly enough, she said — it's not posing a flooding danger on the roadway, but is holding water longer than it should. Workers will have to return to replace a light pole damaged by a crash on the roundabout, Thompson said. ODOT is waiting for the replacement pole to be delivered. After consulting with a project engineer, Thompson said there is no additional cost for the repairs. The work is included in the scope of the original construction contract. ODOT has increasingly favored roundabouts as a solution to traffic problems, especially in rural areas where crashes have repeatedly caused injury and death. "Roundabouts are growing in popularity as more and more transportation agencies recognize the increased safety and traffic-moving efficiency they bring to intersections," says an ODOT website page dedicated to their use. Studies by the Federal Highway Administration show roundabouts achieve a 44 percent reduction in crashes. When replacing two-way stop intersections, they reduce serious injury and deadly crashes by nearly 90 percent. When replacing a traffic signal, crashes drop 48 percent and lead to 80 percent fewer serious injuries and deaths. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety determined that converting 10 percent of signalized intersections nationwide would have saved more than 981 million hours in drive time and 654 million gallons of gas in 2018. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.