By: 1812Blockhouse Staff
The Richland County Engineer’s Office is a busy place these days.
According to the office website, projects are currently underway in the following locations:
- Shelby-Ganges Road Bridge in Jackson Township
- Wells Road Bridge in Bloominggrove Township
- Pittenger Road Bridge in Weller Township
- Snodgrass Road Bridge in Springfield Township
- Chip & Seal Project — various locations
A posting of future projects, however, now includes the planned construction of a roundabout in Richland County.
Roundabouts are not modern inventions; the earliest precursor was likely “the Circus” in Bath, England, built in 1768. Post-World War II, roundabouts began to appear in the United Kingdom, and they arrived in the United States in the 1990s. Some states have many; Washington State had 120 by late 2016, for instance.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has a page dedicated to the traffic feature which discusses safety aspects as well as a providing a short video primer on navigating roundabouts.
According to the County Engineer, a roundabout is planned for the 2022-2024 construction period for the intersection of Illinois Avenue/Cook Road and Mansfield-Lucas Road. The idea was publicly introduced last summer. A fact sheet from the public meeting on the proposal can be found here, and a video introduction is below.
Source: Wikipedia, ODOT, Richland County Engineer;Photo by Ádám Berkecz on Unsplash
