HOWLAND After two years of construction, the Diverging Diamond Interchange project in Howland is officially completed and the diamond is open to traffic.

A spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) District 4 tells 21 News the construction barriers came down and cars began passing through the diamond around 2:45 Friday afternoon.

The project finished nearly one year ahead of schedule, with work beginning in September of 2023. At the time, ODOT had predicted a completion date sometime in 2026.

The project was constructed after a 2018 study showed that between 2012 and 2016, the interchange at State Route 46 and 82 in Howland Township had nearly 160 crashes, with more than 20% of them resulting in injuries.

The project included new pavement, striping, signage, signals, lighting and landscaping.

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