POLAND — The Western Reserve Road roundabout, located at Five Points, is now open after months of frustration from motorists.

Pat Ginnetti, county engineer, said the $2 million roundabout opened Sunday night, and the road to completion was “long and stressful.”

The roundabout ties traffic from Western Reserve Road, North Lima Road and Springfield Road. The project was completely federally funded, Ginnetti said.

Due to changing traffic patterns and the unfamiliarity of how a roundabout works, Ginnetti said confusion is expected.

“It didn’t surprise me to see,” he said. “It’s a bit of a learning curve.”

Throughout the project, which began in March, some motorists would go against signage for shortcuts, rather than follow detours and traffic flow.

When motorists moved barricades to cut through the construction, Ginnetti said it posed a hazard for not only themselves, but other motorists and construction workers.

“One of the big reasons you barricade is safety. When people disregard signage, that’s when people get killed,” he said.

Ginnetti said it is still too early to tell how the roundabout is impacting traffic, but some congestion has been alleviated from the new exit ramp at Interstate 680 and state Route 164, which opened last month.

“It’ll take time to see how traffic is flowing,” he said, adding the new Five Points roundabout will keep traffic moving, “not eliminate it.”

The Five Points roundabout follows the first in the county at Mathews Road and Sheridan Road in Boardman, and state Route 164 in Beaver Township.

Motorists can rest easy for a while, Ginnetti said, as there are no plans to add any other roundabouts in Mahoning County for the next five years.

Ginnetti said that the process to bring the newest roundabout to fruition took about five years, starting with reports done at a federal level.

“When the engineering company was hired, it looked at different alternatives,” he said, with a roundabout showing to be the best option.

Ultimately, roundabouts are built for safety, Ginnetti said.

“What they do is drastically reduce severe accidents,” he said, specifically T-bone collisions. Roundabouts also improve air quality because vehicles keep moving, which minimizes air emissions, he added.

Ginnetti explained that cars enter the roundabout to the right in a counterclockwise motion. Vehicles within the circle have the right of way, and oncoming vehicles should yield, merging behind those already in the circle.

“Go slow,” he emphasized.

“I always urge and caution people to be patient,” Ginnetti said, adding: “This is a change. This is new.”

He acknowledged that since roundabouts are scarce in Mahoning County, the lack of them attributes to apprehension. “It’s not like we’re in Columbus where they’re everywhere. It will take everyone time to adjust.”

Ginnetti said lighting from Ohio Edison will be installed, and next year permanent striping will be applied.

afox@tribtoday.com