ODOT selects two roundabouts for US 62/SR 39 corridor west of Berlin

The Ohio Department of Transportation District 1 has selected plans to build two single-lane roundabouts at the intersections of County Road 201 and State Route 557 along the U.S. 62/State Route 39 corridor just west of Berlin. ODOT said the agency has concluded the public involvement process for three proposed roundabouts and selected the layouts to carry forward into the detailed design phase, with the Holmes County sites receiving funding through Ohio’s Highway Safety Improvement Program.

ODOT will advance the selected layouts into detailed design; project documents are available on ODOT’s project pages under project number 121970 and ODOT’s roundabout information resources. The agency has not published a construction schedule or estimated construction costs for the US‑62/SR‑39 locations, and no start or completion dates have been released for the Berlin-area work.

ODOT cited statewide crash-data analysis to justify the roundabout conversions. The department’s review of 76 intersections converted to roundabouts showed single-lane roundabouts decreased injury crashes by 69% while multi-lane roundabouts resulted in a 25% decline. ODOT Director Pamela Boratyn said, “Safety is the driving force behind every decision we make, and the results are clear, roundabouts are very effective at reducing crashes and saving lives.” The department also noted a statewide funding push announced by Governor Mike DeWine that added $137 million for 55 traffic safety projects, 25 of which include installing roundabouts.

District 1 officials pointed to local evidence in support of the designs. Chris Hughes, ODOT District 1 deputy director, said, “We are excited to move these projects forward. Roundabouts have proven to be effective at our rural intersections. Where we have built them in Allen and Van Wert counties there have been zero fatal crashes, injury crashes are down 72% and crashes overall are down 36%.” District 1 materials also reference other regional projects, including a centered, circular, single-lane roundabout planned at State Route 67 and State Route 235 with tentative construction set for Fall 2028.

ODOT highlighted case studies illustrating expected safety gains. At the Clark County intersection of State Route 41 and State Route 235, a roundabout installed in 2014 produced 11 years without a single fatal crash; “The lone serious injury crash occurred in 2023 and involved a motorcycle with the rider impaired by drugs and without a helmet or motorcycle endorsement on their license,” ODOT materials state.

Public involvement for the three proposed District 1 roundabouts has concluded, ODOT said. Some widely circulated concerns about livestock, emergency vehicles and construction staging stem from an open‑house and comments tied to a separate Oklahoma Department of Transportation project on U.S. 62/State Highway 82 and therefore do not apply to the Holmes County US‑62/SR‑39 plan. For local technical details and follow-up, ODOT lists Matt Bruning, Press Secretary, at 614-466-6906.

Key unanswered items for the Holmes County sites include the construction timeline, estimated costs, detour and traffic management plans during construction, right-of-way impacts, and specific design accommodations for large agricultural and emergency vehicles. ODOT’s move into detailed design for the CR 201 and SR 557 roundabouts marks the next step in the HSIP-funded effort to reduce serious crashes on the US‑62/SR‑39 corridor west of Berlin.