MASURY, Ohio (WKBN) – The work is almost finished on Trumbull County’s first Restricted Crossing U-Turn (RCUT) intersection. The rest of the construction barrels are set to be removed on Thursday.
The RCUT completely reworks how traffic flows from Bedford Road to U.S. Route 62.
It officially opened to traffic late last week.
“As you are driving in the area and going to be approaching it for the first time, please just follow the signs,’ said Ray Marsch, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT). “If you are exiting or entering from Bedford Road, you will make that right-hand turn then you will need to get in that left-hand lane and focus on that one direction of traffic as you make that restricted crossing u-turn to head the opposite direction of U.S. 62.”
The point of the project is to improve safety. It cost about $2 million. Work began this past spring.
“RCUTs are proven to reduce injury crashes up to 40% and fatality crashes up to 70%. You are starting to see more and more of these throughout Ohio,” Marsch said.
In addition to the RCUT, the intersection of Route 62 and Broadway Avenue was changed to a right-in and right-out movement only, another added effort to improve safety on a stretch of road that’s experienced a number of traffic accidents.
“At the end of the day, this was set up to help improve safety and eliminate those crashes we have seen,’ Marsch said.
