He said that some of the design elements for the roundabout have changed during the planning process.
MORE: Residents divided on fix for deadly Butler County intersection
Cunningham said the needed right of way has been clarified and said ODOT expects to complete the acquisition of right of way by the winter of 2019. He said construction is projected to begin in late spring or early summer of 2019.
The project is being paid through a funding program to improve safety at high crash locations.
The project was a result of a safety study by ODOT which determined the intersection was the fifth worst rural intersection in the state. Cunningham said the safety ranking was based on the number of crashes, the severity of the crashes and traffic volume.
At the time of the study’s results, Cunningham said while the skewed intersection has “a relatively low traffic volume” — an average daily flow of 7,000 vehicles — right angle and T-bone crashes keep occurring.
One of the possible roundabout configurations would reduce the hill on Ohio 73 east as it goes into the roundabout that would be built slightly to the south of the current intersection.
The other two possible roundabout configurations would require demolishing one or both houses that are currently near the northeast and northwest corners of the intersection.
In all three configurations, ODOT said the intersection would be highly visible and promote lower speeds.
Previous fixes already tried have included flashing warning lights, rumble strips and flashing stop signs at the intersection, which sits at the bottom of two hills along Ohio 73.
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