COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine and the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) are dedicating $54 million to dozens of new traffic safety infrastructure projects across the state.
ODOT said the projects are aimed at preventing two specific types of deadly traffic crashes that have seen the highest increase in recent years: pedestrian involved crashes and "roadway departure accidents."
According to the state, 176 pedestrians were killed in traffic crashes in 2021 as compared to 88 pedestrians killed in 2013. Pedestrian deaths in 2022 only slightly decreased. ODOT said 688 people died in "roadway departure crashes" in 2022 as compared to 576 in 2013.
The money, which comes from ODOT's Highway Safety Improvement Program, will be split between 30 counties including Hamilton, Butler, Clermont and Clinton counties.
"With Ohio's new distracted driving law, we're beginning to see drivers' focus return to the roads, but we must also ensure that the roads themselves are structurally safe as well," DeWine said. "The infrastructure projects we're funding today will be designed to help prevent deadly crashes."
DeWine said these safety projects include the installation of high-visibility crossings, advanced yield markings, improved lighting, additional pedestrian-activated signals near schools and new traffic calming mechanisms such as speedbumps.
To help stop what ODOT calls "roadway departure crashes," he said the state will implement projects that widen shoulders, flatten slopes, remove deep ditches and install rumble stripes, especially on high-speed rural roads.
Here's how much of that $54 million will land in the Tri-State:
- Butler County: $7.2 million
- Clermont County: $1 million
- Clinton County: $5 million
- Hamilton County: $3.3 million
You can see a full state-wide breakdown of the funds here.
“Since Governor DeWine took office in 2019, ODOT’s traffic safety program has risen to its greatest investment in the history of the department,” said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks. “This has allowed our team to address a variety of safety hotspots around the state, from dangerous intersections to now pedestrian-related crashes and roadway departure crashes.”
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