PUBLIC MEETING

An open house public meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 24 from 6 pm – 8 pm. A brief presentation will be given at 7 p.m. If you plan to attend, please RSVP HERE.

PROJECT INFORMATION

For the past two years, the City of Gahanna has been working on a plan to reduce congestion at the intersection of Taylor Station Road, Claycraft Road, and Research Road by replacing the existing intersection with a modern roundabout intersection.

The intersection of Taylor Station, Claycraft and Research Roads is the primary route to and from numerous commercial and industrial facilities in Gahanna. All three intersecting roadways are two lanes (one lane in each direction), controlled by a timed traffic signal. The intersection currently experiences high congestion during peak traffic hours.

The City is proposing to replace the existing Taylor Station Road, Claycraft Road, and Research Road intersection with a modern roundabout. In addition to reducing congestion, this project will provide new pedestrian accommodations, improved water lines, and a new storm water drainage system. Visual enhancements provided by this project will include brick pavers or stamped concrete around the center island and in the medians, decorative street lighting, and landscaping in the center island.

For additional information on navigating a roundabout, watch this brief video from the Ohio Department of Transportation. Roundabouts are designed specifically to accommodate large vehicles through the use of “truck aprons.” The truck apron is a raised area with a lower-than-normal curb height adjacent to the travel lane, as shown in Figure 2 below, that allows large vehicles like truck trailers to traverse the roundabout. The proposed roundabout design will include a truck apron around the central island and along the outside curb in the southwest quadrant to aid larger vehicles in maneuvering the central island and making a right turn from Claycraft Road to Taylor Station Road. The size and shape of the truck aprons were determined based on computer simulations of a semi-truck with a 53-foot trailer.

Level of service (LOS) is a measure used to express the operational quality of a roadway. LOS quantifies the increase in travel time that a vehicle experiences (or is expected to experience) and also provides a way to measure driver discomfort and fuel consumption. LOS is stated in terms of average delay per vehicle (in seconds) during a specified time period (e.g., weekday afternoon peak). The LOS is graded using letters from A to F, with A being the best (i.e., generally free-flowing traffic) and F being the worst (i.e., stop and go traffic with extended delays).

A traffic study, conducted in 2017, indicates the existing intersection experiences an overall poor level of service (LOS E) during the afternoon peak. A roundabout design at this intersection is expected to improve the overall intersection’s LOS grade to A.

For a portion of construction, the intersection will be closed to thru traffic and a detour will be posted. Access to adjacent properties will be maintained at all times throughout construction. As shown in Figure 3 below, the proposed detour includes Taylor Road, Morrison Road, and Westbourne Avenue. The only proposed access to and from Research Road, Blatt Boulevard, Eastgate Parkway, and Deffenbaugh Court during the intersection closure will be through the intersection of Eastgate Parkway and Taylor Road. Local businesses, schools, and emergency service providers will be informed of closures and detours in advance.

The project will require acquisition of temporary easements as well as permanent right-of-way. Once detailed design plans are complete and easement and right-of-way needs are known, affected property owners will be contacted by a City of Gahanna representative who will explain the impacts to their property and the right-of-way acquisition process.

COMMENTS

Your comments and concerns about this project are important to us. We encourage you to provide input online by visiting surveymonkey.com/r/Taylor-Station-Claycraft-Research-Meeting. Please submit comments by 5 p.m. on June 7, 2022. All comments collected will be reviewed by the project team and considered as the project moves forward.