The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) continues to focus on ways to improve the safety of Ohio roadways. ODOT works hard to make sure safety projects are a top priority. Projects range from major reconstruction to simple changes that garner great results.
Recently, ODOT saw some of those great safety results after restriping the intersection of State Route 29 and Three Mile Road near Urbana in Champaign County. This intersection has seen numerous crashes over the years. ODOT conducted a safety study in January 2020 that showed most of the crashes at that location were attributed to failure to yield. That study resulted in a striping change to the Three Mile Road approaches. A triangular striped out area was added to the centerline to push Three Mile Road traffic to pull up to the intersection perpendicular to SR 29. Stop bars were also added at that location. These changes improve the line of sight.
Changing the striping on the pavement encourages drivers to pull forward to get a better view of the intersection. The results speak for themselves. There were 17 crashes at that intersection between 2009 and 2011. That same location had 20 crashes between 2018 and 2020. After restriping the pavement in the fall of 2020, crash numbers dropped drastically. The latest report shows only 5 crashes at that same location between 2021 and 2023. That’s a decrease in crashes of 76%. Along with that, injury crashes went down by 90%.
“This project is a great example of ODOT keeping safety at the top of our priority list,” said District 7 Deputy Director Bud O’Brien. “Any time we can make changes that result in this type of crash reduction it’s a major win for everyone.”
