Licking County Commissioners heard testimony April 28 from public officials and residents before they begin deliberations on whether to remove part of River Road amid safety and traffic concerns.
The Ohio Department of Transportation is petitioning to remove an access point onto State Route 16 East from River Road in Licking County and need the commissioners’ approval to do so. The closure would remove commuters’ ability to turn right from River Road and merge onto the highway, which ODOT believes threatens drivers’ safety, in part because there is no merge lane for people who turn right onto the highway from River Road.
The agency filed the petition April 2, which activated a 30-day window for Licking County Commissioners Tim Bubb, Duane Flowers and Rick Black to render a decision. The deadline is May 2, though they expect to announce their ruling on ODOT’s proposal at an April 30 regular meeting.
Drivers heading east on SR 16 would still have the ability to turn right onto River Road, according to an outline the agency provided to the commissioners. ODOT would remove pavement on River Road that allows commuters to turn onto the highway and would reconfigure the intersection so that people heading north on River Road can turn back and head east.
Commissioners listened to around two hours of testimony from public officials and residents during the April 28 hearing. They didn’t offer opinions on the proposal during the hearing.
The intersection is in Granville Township and is around 7 miles west of Newark.
“There are rural farm roads and county township roads that have been here for a long time,” Bubb said. “They’ve been upgraded with pavements, but surely they were not designed for some of the loads that they face.
“But also, we can’t restrict truck traffic on our roads or public highways. There’s a lot of dilemmas in the discussion. It’s challenging, but we’ll make a decision.”
Some residents want intersection completely closed
Residents Gale Amacher and Charlene Crain, who live around River Road, reported seeing an increase in traffic along the road and more frequent speeding. They each believe the road isn’t suited to handle additional traffic and that closing the intersection could address those concerns.
Another resident, Erin Russell, suggested exploring other options for the intersection, in part to see more data.
Two residents sent in emails to the commissioners, both opposing ODOT’s petition because of safety, accessibility and traffic concerns. They said residents in the area rely on accessing SR 16 from River Road for daily travel and emergency situations.
More than a dozen crashes at the intersection since 2021, ODOT says
ODOT District 5 Planning Engineer Heather Gilbert said the agency explored other options for the intersection, such as closing it completely or allowing only first responders to use it. Staff discussed those with Granville Township Trustees but all parties determined the partial closure as the most favorable option, Gilbert said at the hearing.
Gilbert also mentioned the agency didn’t fully discuss adding an acceleration lane for commuters turning right onto SR 16, stating that doing so conflicts with design standards. There is also a ravine nearby, and it’s unclear what environmental impacts another lane might cause.
“Acceleration lanes are meant for ramps and stuff like that on high-speed facilities,” Gilbert said.
According to ODOT data, there were 14 crashes at the intersection between 2021 and 2025, with 50% of them resulting in injury. Gilbert reported data from 2015 show about 120 vehicles daily turned right onto the highway from River Road and around 1,800 turned onto River Road from SR 16, though she and others suggested the numbers could be higher because of completed and ongoing development in the area.
The numbers from 2015 are the agency’s most recent numbers, according to Gilbert.
Some county staff suggest complete closure, adding lane may be best options
Licking County Engineer Jared Knerr said during the hearing that he would look into adding the acceleration lane if it was one of his projects. Knerr cited concerns about people in the Park Ridge neighborhood losing the ability to exit in both directions if they can’t turn right onto SR 16 and the bridge around Thornwood Crossing is compromised.
To access SR 16, residents in the area head west on River Road or east to use Thornwood Crossing.
Licking County Technical Study Director Matt Hill suggested closing the interaction to public traffic but allowing first responders to use it. The intersection could also be used as a fire exit in case of emergency, he said.
Hill’s concerns stem from a weave and possible bottlenecks between State Route 37 and the intersection. He said that commuters who merge onto SR 16 from SR 37 may be accelerating towards people who are trying to turn onto River Road from SR 16.
Hill also opined that extending the turn lane onto River Road from the highway could tighten the weave. ODOT is planning to extend the turn lane about 150 feet, leaving about 500 feet from the start of that lane to the intersection. Extending it any longer could exacerbate weaving issues, Gilbert said.
Granville Township Fire Chief Casey Curtis estimates closure of the intersection would add 10 to 12 minutes in first responders’ response time to people seeking help in the area.
What else to know about the area
ODOT has previously adjusted the intersection. Commuters in the past could cross the highway from River Road and turn left to head west on SR 16, but ODOT eliminated that over similar safety concerns and installed signage notifying drivers that it was a one-way turn.
In 2019, county commissioners approved ODOT’s petition to close River Road north of SR 16 following seven crashes there over a six-year period.
Any decision the commissioners make on this latest proposal would be without prejudice, meaning ODOT could file another petition at some point.
Advocate reporter Josué Perez can be reached at jhperez@newarkadvocate.com.
This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Licking County to decide on ODOT’s pitch to close part of River Road
Reporting by Josué Perez, Newark Advocate / Newark Advocate
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