ODOT hosts public meeting on future plans for SR 557, CR 201
ODOT officials were on hand during the recent meeting at Keim in Charm to discuss travel options along state Routes 557 and 62/39 and County Road 201.
For many months discussions between Holmes County officials and members of Ohio Department of Transportation District 11 have taken place concerning options for the pair of intersections at the bottom of the hill west of Berlin, where state Routes 62/39 intersect with County Road 201 heading north to Fryburg and state Route 557 heading south to Charm.
The Holmes County Commissioners first implored ODOT to do something about the intersections because of traffic flow and the danger each presents, and ODOT went to work on finding the best possible solution.
On Tuesday, May 6, that solution took a leap toward reality when ODOT officials and a team from the firm Kimley-Horn and Associates came to Keim in Charm to present five different options.
“This study has been very extensive,” said Lauren Borell, public information officer with ODOT District 11. “There has been a lot of time and details that have gone into this in regards of safety and to look at all of these alternatives. These alternatives come from the feedback we’ve gotten from the Holmes County Commissioners. They were interested in having traffic signals, but because we want to do the safest alternative, we kicked off this study.”
Aaron Prichard of Kimley-Horn gave the presentation of the five-pack of available options, outlining the positives and negatives of each plan.
“We scored each of the alternatives as well as the no-build on a one-to-five scale, with five being excellent, one being poor,” Prichard said. “One thing to note is that safety and traffic issues were weighted more heavily because they were the two components that were part of the purpose in need for the project.”
The five plans included a no-build alternative; alternative one, state Route 557 stop-control and County Road 201 stop-control with turn lanes; alternative two, state Route 557 signalized and County Road 201 signalized with turn lanes; alternative three, state Route 557 signalized and County Road 201 signalized; alternative four, state Route 557 roundabout with bypass lanes and County Road 201 signalized; and alternative five, state Route 557 with a roundabout and County Road 201 with a roundabout.
Prichard said plenty of work went into exploring all options, with an emphasis placed on several key issues including crashes in both areas from 2019-23 and the types of crashes reported.
Another issue was cost, which included alternative one at $1.84 million, alternative two at $2.64 million, alternative three at $3.32 million, alternative four at $3.81 million and alternative five at $4.44 million.
The detailed work also explored environmental impact, right-of-way impact and purchase, and maintenance and utility expenses.
In evaluating each option, Prichard said once all the key issues were prioritized by importance, weighed and rated, ODOT officials felt one option stood out as the best solution.
“After going through all of the (proposals), we determined that alternative five ranks the highest,” Prichard said.
The next step for ODOT will be a time of receiving feedback from anyone with input or concerns. All comments need to be submitted by June 5 by mail at Kimley-Horn and Associates, Attn: Aaron Prichard, 7965 N. High St., Suite 200, Columbus, OH 43235; by email to Aaron.Prichard@kimley-horn.com; or by calling 380-900-8164.
“To comply with state and federal standards, we wanted to give the public at least 30 days to speak and give us comments,” Prichard said. “We’re happy to receive any comments.”
According to Borell, after the public comment period, both ODOT and Kimley-Horn will gather and review all comments to determine which way to move forward.
“That will help us determine what the best alternative is, considering all the data we have from our feasibility study as well as the public input,” Borell said.
Borell said the public input will play a big factor in determining the proper decision, noting public input is extremely important to ODOT, especially in smaller communities like Holmes County.
She said the one thing that was certain is ODOT would eventually adopt the safest alternative.
“Safety is the main reason we’re here,” she said.
Funding for the project will come from ODOT, done in coordination with the Holmes County Engineer’s Office because of the connection onto County Road 201.
“We already have safety funding for this specific intersection,” Borell said. “We applied for abbreviated safety funds (in 2021) and have it secured for this project moving forward.”
Another part of the planning process will be to discuss the purchase of any possible land acquisitions from area landowners from whom ODOT would have to purchase land to move forward.
ODOT has a dedicated real estate team that will lead that discussion.
Borell said ODOT has appreciated their working closely with the Holmes County Commissioners on this project.
“They have been very passionate about this project and the safety of Holmes County,” Borell said. “We have had some very healthy discussions on this project, and we always appreciate any of our partners coming to us with safety concerns.”
The project is slated to begin construction in spring 2028.