A recent decision by the Ohio Department of Transportation is expected to prevent car accidents but lengthen the commute from Athens to The Plains.
After 15 years of research and deliberation, ODOT decided Tuesday to close the median at the intersection of Johnson Road, River Road and U.S. 33, effective this April.
Closing the median will prevent U.S. 33 eastbound and westbound traffic from turning left onto either side street, thereby eliminating the threat of cross-traffic accidents, said Debra Fought, ODOT District 10 planning and development administrator.
From January 2007 to October 2012, there were 22 traffic collisions at the intersection, one of which was fatal, according to an ODOT study.
Though turning left onto U.S. 33 from Johnson Road or River Road has been marked as illegal since 2000, six of the 22 crashes involved vehicles turning illegally, according to the study.
The median’s closing will improve vehicular safety, but the inability to turn left onto Johnson Road will disrupt current Athens High School bus routes, said Carl Martin, Athens City Schools superintendent. He added that although the school district has worked alongside ODOT, Tuesday’s announcement came as a surprise.
“I definitely think the safety concerns are addressed,” Martin said. “Now we’ll have to work out the logistics of alternate routes.”
The average commuter from the city to Athens High School must now access The Plains at the intersection of U.S. 33 and State Route 682, making the trip about five minutes longer, according to an ODOT news release.
The extra commute won’t come as an inconvenience to some drivers who have already been avoiding the intersection, said Austin Miles, a freshman at OU studying biological sciences, who was left in a 24-hour coma after a car accident at the median in 2002.
“Since that accident, my family has avoided that place like the plague,” Miles said. “(ODOT) really needed to fix that (intersection).”
Though the commute will be longer, Athens City Councilwoman Michele Papai, D-3rd Ward, said the safety benefits are worth the extra five minutes.
“It’s a very wise and thoughtful decision,” said Papai, whose son, Will Drabold, is a reporter for The Post. “Some people may be initially inconvenienced, but I believe we can all change and grow with change.”
—Lucas Daprile and Cassie Kelly contributed to this article
sh335311@ohiou.edu
