CENTERVILLE — The City of Centerville is happy to see the kind of help it will get at a dangerous interchange.
The state has listed the I-675 and Wilmington Pike interchange as one of only 13 roads in Ohio that will get a new warning system.
Centerville City Manager Wayne Davis said they have been working on setting up this system for four to five years.
Cars tend to get backed up daily at the Wilmington Pike and the I-675 Interchange.
>> Man walking with 2 assault rifles on highway overpass alarms drivers
“[It’s] one of the 13 most congested stretches of highway in the state,” Davis said.
The interchange is also a known spot for crashes, according to Centerville Police Department’s Public Information Officer Keith Wallace
“Since January of last year. Our department has handled 51 crashes,” Wallace said.
One crash in November led to a teenager losing his life.
>> Shooter fires several shots along busy Clark County streets
“Anything that can be done to make the intersection safer and reduce that risk is a good thing,” Wallace said.
As the area around the interchange continues to grow, so does the amount of cars on the road.
“We have plans in place for 72 acres of development on the south side of 675,” Davis said.
That’s why ODOT is putting resources into bringing a sign to Centerville that would detect Traffic congestion and warn drivers to slow down.
>> Charges dropped against person of interest in ‘targeted killing’ of security guard
“It costs people not only money, but you know time and pain and things like that. So it’s good for us to be able to prevent those things,” Wallace said.
ODOT believes the new tech will bring down rear-end crashes by 16% which is equal to about 1,400 preventable crashes.
“There are a lot of distractions out there when driving, mostly created by the drivers themselves. The technology that they plan to use will certainly be a benefit, I think to that stretch of highway,” Davis said.
Some people have asked if ODOT has a plan to redo the interchange to make it safer. ODOT told News Center 7′s Kayla McDermott that they aren’t sure, but that people can expect the signs to be up and running within two years.
©2024 Cox Media Group
