ODOT cut ribbon on completed Diverging Diamond Interchange in Howland
HOWLAND, Ohio - HOWLAND After two years of closed roads and orange barrels, traffic is now flowing through the Diverging Diamond Interchange Project in Howland.
Members of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) cut the ribbon on the completed project.
The ribbon cutting officially marks the opening of the interchange and took place on Friday, October 17, at 10 a.m.
This newly designed traffic pattern is expected to cut back on congestion, especially as we approach the holiday season.
Chad Root, ODOT District 4 Capital Programs Administrator, said the original intersection was dangerous.
"With the fatalities you had there, if you cut off that traffic, where is it going to go? Well they’re going to go here to an already congested area with the mall down here. So, how are we able to push through traffic? And the diverging diamond interchange became the perfect solution for this," said Root.
The project's design promises move traffic along quicker and safer.
"With these signals, it's green light to go here, stop, green light to go to the other direction. So you cut it down to two phases, so now you've eliminated the conflicting movements, and you cut down on the phases, so it flows smoother," said Root.
Cafaro Company spokesman Joe Bell joined the celebration. He believes it will help the local economy, and ease everyone's nerves as they navigate through the holiday traffic.
"The holiday season, of course, is very heavy. You know, we're talking 10s of 1000s of people during that stretch between Thanksgiving and Christmas," said Bell. "It's enormously important to all the merchants, Eastwood Mall complex, and we think that by getting this done early, they've really added to the economic welfare."
ODOT District 4 Deputy Director Gery Noirot also celebrated the project's early finish.
"Back in 2023 when we did the groundbreaking for this project, I told everyone we could be back in 2026 to do a ribbon cutting, but here we are, in the fall of 2025, to cut the ribbon on this beautiful project," said Noirot.
Diverging diamonds started to make an appearance in Ohio around 5 years ago. This one is the first in Northeast Ohio.
The interchange officially opened up to motorists on Friday, October 10. The project finished ahead of schedule, originally having a predicted completion date in 2026.
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