Ohio Department of Transportation engineers will test the design of the radically different intersection in southern Montgomery County the week of May 24.
“They’re trying to get it open as soon as possible,” Hoag said
Original plans called for a four-way continual flow intersection, but it was too expensive. So, northbound and southbound traffic on Ohio 741 flows like a typical intersection. Motorists traveling east or west on Austin Pike face a set of left-turn lanes that cross over oncoming traffic a few hundred feet before the intersection at Ohio 741. Signals are timed so that left-turning traffic typically doesn’t have to stop at the intersection and is able to merge smoothly with other vehicles after the turn.
“It makes it a much more efficient intersection,” said Hoag, adding that traffic lights will be equipped with battery back-ups. If power failed and traffic signals went out, the complexity of the intersection would require a police officer to direct traffic. Miami Twp. police and paramedics are being trained to respond to accidents or emergencies due to changes in the area.
Montgomery County Engineer Joseph Litvin said he has mixed emotions about the intersection, though he believes it will work.
“I don’t like being a pioneer in these things. This is a high volume road,” he said. “It will take drivers a little while to get used to it.”
Though this is the first such intersection in Ohio, Litvin said his confidence in it stems from successful use in other communities. The intersection was developed in Mexico. In the United States, continuous flow intersections are in use in Louisiana, Maryland and New York.
As construction on the intersection and interchange nears completion, the $7 million widening of Byers Road from Technical Drive to Austin Pike is about to start. The rural road will be widened to five lanes, cutting through woods to connect with Austin Pike. The year-long project begins in June.
Widening of Austin Pike to five lanes up to Washington Church Road also is about to get underway. The $5.5 million project will be completed this year, Litvin said. Plans also call for the roadway name to be changed to Austin Boulevard.
ODOT currently is working on a transportation study that could lead to development of six new intersections off Ohio 741, three north of Austin Pike and three south. Not all intersections would have traffic signals.
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