43
Mahoning County's first roundabout now open
Photo
Tony Pannunzio, left, John Pannunzio, Struthers Mayor Terry Stocker, Rob Donham, John Getchey, Patrick Ginnetti, Tom Costello, Brad Calhoun, Rob Shenal and Matt Burger cut the ribbon at Wednesday’s ceremony opening the new roundabout at Mathews and Sheridan roads. Officials from Mahoning County, Poland and Boardman townships, Struthers and businesses involved in the project were present at the ceremony, as well as dozens of residents of the neighborhood.
BOARDMAN
Mahoning County’s first roundabout, at Mathews and Sheridan roads, is open after two months of construction.
Officials from the county, the city of Struthers, and Poland and Boardman townships, and businesses involved in the project cut the ribbon for the new traffic circle at a ceremony Wednesday morning that was attended by a few dozen residents of the area.
“The project was completed on time, and 10 percent under budget, which was outstanding,” said Patrick Ginnetti, county engineer. “It was a recipe for success. We’re proud of it, and we’re looking forward to getting people moving.”
The Mahoning County commissioners awarded a $696,693 contract to Parella-Pannunzio Inc. of Austintown in May, funds for which came from federal money and local gasoline-tax revenues. The Mathews-Sheridan intersection closed June 16 for construction. During construction of the roundabout, traffic moved through a detour on surrounding streets including Lemoyne, Lynn Mar and Lealand avenues.
Residents of the neighborhood expressed cautious optimism that the roundabout, which is a one-lane traffic circle in which traffic moves in a continuous, counterclockwise flow and is designed to slow down traffic, would improve traffic flow.
“[Roundabouts] are really nice,” said Lou Cerimele, resident of Island Drive. “It’s going to help the traffic move tremendously.” Cerimele said he has lived there for 15 years, and traffic congestion was always a problem at the Mathews-Sheridan intersection. Bernie and Pat Blasko, who have lived on Lynn Mar Avenue for 55 years, agreed that the intersection was always an issue, saying that traffic would be backed up as far as a half-mile on Mathews Road at times.
Congestion was the biggest problem, Ginnetti said.
Accidents, especially those resulting in serious injuries, were another concern that led county officials to install the roundabout, county engineers said.
“This project’s been a long time coming,” said Rob Donham of the Mahoning County Engineer’s Office. “This intersection at Mathews-Sheridan has been a longtime safety issue for the county.”
“The accidents were serious-injury accidents, and that’s what these roundabouts are known for — reducing the number of accidents and minimizing severity of the injuries,” Ginnetti said.
Some 24 accidents were reported at the Mathews-Sheridan intersection between 2007 and 2009, according to the Eastgate Regional Council of Governments website, which has crash data from the Ohio Department of Public Safety.
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, a Boardman school bus and firetruck drove around the roundabout, which features a section on the inside of the roundabout called a “truck apron” that allows trucks and other large vehicles additional space to maneuver the turn.
“It’s a one-lane roundabout, but you have the concrete truck apron that’s there for delivery trucks, garbage trucks, school buses and firetrucks and things of that nature that have a bigger turning radius,” Ginnetti had said earlier.
Boardman Fire Chief Mark Pitzer said motorists should be aware that if an emergency vehicle is approaching the roundabout, motorists should exit the traffic circle at the nearest right-of-way rather than stopping in the roundabout.
“If they stop at the roundabout, we’ll have a problem getting through,” he said.
Some residents who attended the event expressed skepticism about the roundabout, saying that installing turn lanes would have been more effective. The issue with installing turn lanes, however, was that the county would have had to acquire much more right of way from property owners than they had to for the roundabout, Donham said in 2011.
For construction of the roundabout, the county had to acquire rights of way from five property owners, said David Davanzo of TranSystems, the company that handled the acquisitions. Davanzo said most of the construction was within the existing right of way.
Ginnetti said it is likely that more roundabouts will be installed in Mahoning County, saying that the Five Points intersection in Poland is the top priority.
He said the construction of more roundabouts is dependent entirely on getting federal funds for the projects.
Information about how to navigate the Mathews-Sheridan roundabout is available on the county engineer’s website.