MOUNT VERNON – By July 2022, Mount Vernon must complete safety improvements at the South Main Street-Columbus Road intersection to meet the terms of a $250,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
The project will be replacing traffic lights and signage and redoing pedestrian road markings, City Councilmember Julia Warga said. The City will need to make a 10% match for the project.
She said the project will probably take place in the spring of 2022. It must be completed by July 1, 2022.
City Engineer Brian Ball said the intersection is long and is the scene of many near-accidents. The stop bar that is on the bridge for the old exit from The Station Break will be moved to make the intersection smaller.
Council President Bruce Hawkins asked if the improvements would assist motorists driving north on Main Street heading to Ariel-Foundation Park who turn left onto Columbus Road.
By moving the stop bar north, time is gained for motorists making that turn, Ball said. Currently, the second car turning almost gets T-boned.
“It’s amazing that we haven’t had more accidents,” he said. “There’s a lot of near misses; there’s not a lot of actual crashes.” But a lot of squealing tires are heard.
A previous proposal for the intersection got rejected by ODOT, Ball said. Former Safety-Service Director Joel Daniels wanted to realign the intersection and put the road through the parking lot of the depot. More driveways would be closed and a buffalo fence would have been installed in front of Creno’s.
“Nobody wanted their driveways closed off,” Ball said. “The real estate and the cost to move the road to the parking lot was enormous. We were asking them for millions and millions of dollars.”
ODOT’s approved grant funds a much smaller project.
“We’re not going to close any driveways, not putting any fences up, we’re not blocking anything,” Ball said.
The City will create a small two-car, one-truck left-turn lane into Creno’s Pizza and Whit’s, he said. An exit signal with a sensor will be installed at the driveway between Creno’s, Whit’s and NAPA. If no one is waiting to turn left, the signal skips and gives more green time north and south.
A pedestrian crossing from the depot to the speedway will enable anyone on the bike trail to cross the street, Ball said.
ODOT will pay for 90% of the work, including the construction inspection. Ball estimated the total cost for construction and inspection to be approximately $235,000. During construction, the road will remain operational with, at worst case, only two lanes open.
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