The time has come for change at State Routes 46 and 82 in Howland Township.

"Years ago we did a traffic study and this was the number one identified area for accidents in the eastgate regional area," said Chad Root, Capital Programs Administrator for the Ohio Department of Transportation, District Four.

There were 159 accidents there over a four year period.

"In order to fix the problem, holistically, we had to fix the congestion through here," Root said.

ODOT plans to do that by creating a diverging diamond interchange, where traffic will cross to the other side of the road and back again.

"Not only is it safer," said Root. "But it also moves the traffic through this area at a better pace so people don't just sit there in traffic," he said.

Before they can get to that though, ODOT will have to replace the bridge over Route 46 first, to keep up with it's maintenance.

"State route 82 will be reduced down to one lane starting tomorrow," said Kurtis Brzyscz, Project Engineer at ODOT. "So there could be some backups and restrictions we just ask that everybody be patient," he said.

"Once completed, this project will include two new bridges on state route 82 over state route 46 and major safety improvements to state route 46," said Gery Noirot, Deputy Director of ODOT District Four.

This project is two phases of one job that will be getting underway tomorrow and will continue all the way through Fall 2026, with some level on inconvenience concerning lane closures.