Voters approved a $37 million bond issue in August 2017 to build a new elementary school at the corner of East Possum Road and Selma Road, and to renovate the middle/high school.
Clark County Commission President Melanie Flax Wilt told The Springfield News-Sun that commissioners expect the intersection to become busier as a result of construction on the new school and traffic from the high school.
“The plan was developed out of a need to slow down traffic,” Flax Wilt said. “We reviewed traffic studies from the county engineers and from ODOT (Ohio Department of Transportation) and we chose to follow their recommendation.”
Construction will be federally funded.
All construction expenses will be covered through federal funding with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Clark County Transportation Coordinating Committee, according to Scott Schmid, transportation director with the Clark County TCC. Funding will cap at $1.2 million.
Public opinion on the project is split.
Some neighbors have welcomed the change while others are against it.
Gabe Andorfer, a former Shawnee High School student, supports the plan to build a roundabout at the intersection.
“(The roundabout will) get me where I need to be — whether it’s work or school and I need to get there on time,” Andorfer said.
Neighbor Ralph Wilson, on the other hand, said he is concerned about construction for the roundabout.
“It’s going to be a headache,” Wilson said. “There’s no other way for us to go to Springfield so (my wife and I) talked over quitting going to Springfield and just do all of our shopping in South Charleston to avoid (it).”
The roundabout will not be completed any time soon.
Clark County Engineer Jonathan Burr said the project is still in its beginning phases.
“This project is a few years out. Probably three years. It might be sooner, it might be later, it just depends,” Burr said.
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