Ohio 13/Fourth Street reopens with roundabouts at Main, Church streets

NEWARK − Infrastructure enhancements have been accomplished on Fourth Road, permitting drivers to journey on the reopened Ohio 13 by means of downtown Newark with out stopping at a site visitors sign between Locust Road and Nationwide Drive close to the South Fork Licking River.

The Fourth Road site visitors alerts at West Predominant and West Church streets have been changed with roundabouts, permitting a continuing move of site visitors on the state route from the site visitors sign at Fourth and Locust streets close to the Ohio 16 entrance/exit to the stoplight at West Nationwide Drive, Wilwood Avenue and Calburn Road.

“Every thing I’ve heard has been constructive up to now,” Metropolis Engineer Brian Morehead mentioned. “Persons are joyful they’re not sitting at lights and might transfer frequently. Speeds appear diminished.”

Town’s $28 million Fourth Road infrastructure undertaking complies with an Environmental Safety Company mandate to separate sanitary and storm sewers to stop mixed sewer overflows of sewage into the river.

Like the development on the Courthouse Sq. in 2015-18, metropolis officers determined to make modifications to the roads after the mandated underground utility work had been accomplished.

The 2 new roundabouts are a lot bigger than the mini roundabouts on the Courthouse Sq..

“They’re now going 15-20 miles per hour across the roundabout,” Morehead mentioned. “It’s slower transferring, however extra constant motion.”

One distinction between the 2 new roundabouts is the phrase “yield” within the pavement on the approaches to the roundabout at Church and Fourth streets. It doesn’t seem on the Predominant and Fourth site visitors circle.

“It’s a brand new factor we’d be attempting to implement,” Morehead mentioned. He mentioned he doesn’t know if the 5 factors roundabout referred to as “The Bean” due to its form can have “yield” within the pavement.

Yield indicators are additionally in place on the roundabout approaches to let drivers know automobiles already within the roundabout have the right-of-way.

Morehead mentioned the Church Road roundabout was a metropolis undertaking, whereas the Predominant Road site visitors circle was an Ohio Division of Transportation funded job.

The undertaking isn’t completed, nevertheless, as the following section begins Monday on West Locust and Granville streets.

West Locust Road shall be closed on both aspect of Fifth Road, however Fifth Road site visitors will be capable of journey by means of the intersection. Granville Road shall be closed from North Fifth Road to Central Avenue.

The site visitors sample in place subsequent week will stay by means of the winter, Morehead mentioned. When the varsity yr ends, building will start on the roundabout on the five-points intersection of Fifth, Granville and Locust streets.

After completion of the undertaking subsequent yr, the town’s sewer separation work strikes north and south of downtown, together with work on Mount Vernon Street to Rugg Avenue, and aspect streets like Jefferson Street, Moull Road and Fairfield Avenue, in addition to Hudson Avenue, in 2024-28, and the interceptor sewer on South Second Road in 2024-26.

kmallett@newarkadvocate.com

740-973-4539

Twitter: @kmallett1958