A new traffic signal and intersection improvements at Interstate 76 and Bailey Road were completed in November after a traffic study by the Ohio Department of Transportation deemed the changes warranted. ... Correspondent photo / Brandon Cantwell

NORTH JACKSON — An influx of businesses and an increase in traffic recently led to installation of a new traffic signal and multiple turning lanes on Bailey Road to lessen congestion near the Interstate 76 on and off ramps.

Mahoning County Engineer Pat Ginnetti said numerous complaints from drivers unable to easily get off exit ramps resulted in a traffic study by the Ohio Department of Transportation nearly two years ago. Construction started last summer, and the project was completed in November.

ODOT District 4 Deputy Director Justin Chesnic said the changes are designed to monitor the traffic influx and congestion caused by it.

“So basically, this project was done because, at that interchange where Bailey Road is, there’s been some new businesses that were developed here in the last few years. There’s a truck stop and a couple other trucking companies right there at the interchange,” Chesnic said. “The project really was two parts: the first part was on the ramp, so if you’re coming westbound on I-76, we added a left turn lane. And then if you were coming eastbound on 76, we added a right turn lane on those ramps there.”

He explained those changes help motorists make turns more easily by dispersing traffic more evenly.

Ginnetti said one of the issues they had, before the traffic signal construction, was trucks and cars going in the wrong direction.

“So one of the problems we were having is when cars come out of several of the intersecting streets along Bailey (Road) by the highway, they would turn and go the wrong way,” Ginnetti said. “They’re not realizing that it’s a four-lane divided highway, they’re thinking it’s a two-lane road. We have a lot of signage, notice from Leonard Parkway, which is where Truck World is, through where Sheetz is, ‘Wrong Way’, going the opposite way because there are so many issues there. So that’s where that stemmed from.”

Ginnetti said that ODOT had full control over the project, from the study and determining the signals were needed, to the funding. He added that township trustees typically contact his office collectively to discuss concerns. For this case, however, they frequently spoke with Greg Taillon, who served as the township’s police chief when the initial request was made.

Ginnetti added that he didn’t have an exact answer for why cars were going the wrong way previously, as there were many standard signs in traffic manuals indicating the right direction.

Township Trustee Tom Frost said that while there hasn’t been enough time since its placement to get any statistics, it has helped alleviate jams, notably on the interstate itself because lines of traffic were spilling backward onto the interstate.

“It’s actually worked out well,” Frost said. “You know, I think it’s helping with the congestion at the truck stops, which, you know, trucks move slowly, so it takes them a while to pull out. You can’t have cars going 55. In the long run, it’s going to help out with accidents, I think it’s going to help out with traffic congestion and probably help out with traffic stops and citations.”