BROOKFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio -  A deadly crash that happened back in 2018 provided the impetus for plans to improve safety along a stretch of highway in Brookfield Township.

Those plans will be the topic of a public meeting next Tuesday where the Ohio Department of Transportation will present plans to improve the intersection of U.S. Route 62 and Bedford Road.

In September 2018, 80-year-old Blaine Tinelli of Hubbard was killed when the van he was riding in was struck by a garbage truck that failed to yield at the intersection.  Tinelli’s wife was injured.

 

A study of crashes near the intersection between 2014 through 2018 found that in addition to the fatality, there were 17 injury accidents and 21 property crashes during the time span.

Crash records show that most of the injury crashes were the result of angle collisions, while several others happened as a trailing vehicle struck a vehicle turning off US-62 onto Bedford Road.

Records of crashes along this stretch of US-62 show similar crashes at the intersection of US-62 and Broadway Avenue and additional between the two intersections.

 The study area along US-62 west of Bedford Road to US-62 east of Broadway Avenue experiences approximately five crashes per year, according to the study.

Acting on input from local officials, ODOT is recommending building what is known as a Traditional Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) configuration at the U.S. 62 & Bedford Road Intersection.

An RCUT is an intersection design that reduces crashes by changing how minor road traffic crosses or turns left at a major road reducing the potential conflict with other vehicles. At an RCUT, minor road traffic must turn right. All movements (left, though, and right) are allowed from the major road, according to the Georgia Department of Transportation.

ODOT Public Information Officer Ray Marsch said the RCUT reduces injury crashes by 54% and points to other counties such as Stark and Summit, which both have successful RCUTs.

Marsch said the RCUT is cost-effective and more practical than a roundabout for this specific highway.

An image of the RCUT proposed for Route 62 can be seen below:

 

Animation of how an RCUT works may be seen in this video from the Ohio Department of Transportation:

ODOT is also recommending that the Broadway crossing at U.S. 62 be eliminated with the addition of a grassy median to eliminate high-speed angle crashes. Drivers could use the nearby Route 82 cloverleaf to get where they are going.

An image is shown below: The white-colored arrows show the turning movements which will be allowed.

 

 

ODOT plans to begin property acquisition this fall, complete the design by the summer of 2022, with construction to take place from the spring of 2023 through that winter.

The virtual public meeting on the plan is scheduled for Tuesday, June 22, at 5 pm with a presentation followed by an interactive question and answer session.

The link may be found here: https://publicinput.com/ODOT110589

Participate by phone: 855-925-2801 Meeting code: 8777

Text U1388 to 73224