HOWLAND — The new diverging diamond interchange at state Routes 46 and 82 opened Friday, which is nearly a year ahead of schedule.

Work began on the $20 million project in the fall of 2023 and included construction of the divergent diamond on Route 46 and the replacement of both Route 82 bridges over it.

This project was constructed as a result of a 2018 safety study that showed over a four-year period (2012-2016), this interchange had nearly 160 crashes, with more than 20% of them resulting in injury.

This interchange also consistently showed up on ODOT’s Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Urban Non-Freeway priority lists.

The project includes new pavement, striping, signage, signals, lighting and landscaping. A.P. O’Horo Co. out of Youngstown was the primary contractor for this safety project.

Although the project is finished, state Route 46 under Route 82 may have occasional lane restrictions through early November for finishing work.