The closure of one road at a busy Boardman intersection that was supposed to last for three months has now been extended indefinitely.

The Ohio Department of Transportation announced on Monday the closure of  Brookwood Road at the intersection of Shields Road and Market Street is resulting in safety improvements without disruption to surrounding neighborhoods.

ODOT blocked off Brookwood in mid-March as part of what was supposed to be a three-month study to find out if it would improve safety at the intersection.

However, after reporting safety improvements at the intersection, ODOT said it has decided to continue the closure while the data from the mock closure is analyzed by the project team.

Once the traffic report is finalized, ODOT says it will discuss its findings with Boardman Township and will post the final report on the project website.

ODOT began studying possible changes at the five-way intersection in the wake of an increasing number of accidents.

The intersection ranks 50th on the state's Highway Safety Improvement Program for suburban intersections due to high crash frequencies.

The state is recommending turning Brookwood's end into a Cul-de-Sac, leaving only Market Street and Shields Road at the crossroads.

If it’s determined the best course of action is to move forward with the recommended alternative, ODOT says the closure of Brookwood Road will be maintained until construction begins in Spring 2024.

ODOT rejected an alternate plan to reroute Brookwood Road north of Shields and Indianola Roads to form a new intersection with Market Street. That idea was rejected because it would create another access point on Market Street and would not improve safety.