Walking along a busy stretch of Route 46 in Weathersfield Township will be safer thanks to a $460,000 project planned by the Ohio Department of Transportation.

State funding has been approved to update and improve pedestrian safety along State Route 46 between Stewart Street and Seaborn Street. According to a media release from the Office of Governor Mike DeWine, the project will include sidewalks and enhanced crossings. The updates are scheduled to be completed by 2027.

The improvements are among 27 traffic safety projects around the state included in a $41 million funding package designed to reduce roadway departure crashes and pedestrian fatalities.

ODOT said, the safety projects aim to prevent pedestrian fatalities include upgrading or installing pedestrian hybrid beacons at mid-block crosswalks, raised enhanced crosswalks, new sidewalks or multi-use paths, curb bump-outs, buffered bike lanes, and traffic calming measures.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, a roadway departure crash occurs when a vehicle leaves the roadway and hits another car, a fixed object, or overturns.

Roadway departures are the top factor in fatal crashes, accounting for more than half of all traffic deaths in Ohio each year. In 2023, 615 people lost their lives in roadway departure crashes. Pedestrian-involved crashes resulted in 150 deaths last year.

To combat roadway departure crashes, safety projects will include widening roadway shoulders, moving ditches, and clearing trees and other obstacles further from the road.