ICWS Safety Improvement Slated For Brown-68/123

Chillicothe (Thursday, February 28, 2019) – Construction of a first-of-its-kind safety improvement project is getting under way, as contractors for the Ohio Department of Transportation install an Intersection Conflict Warning System (ICWS) at the intersection of U.S. Route 68 and state Route 123 in northern Brown County.

Often deployed at rural, stop-controlled intersections with limited site distance, an ICWS is a series of dynamic warning signs in which detectors activate flashing beacons on warning signs to alert drivers to the presence of another vehicle approaching the intersection. The system, which is the first to be installed on the state highway system by ODOT, provides real-time warning to through-traffic drivers of the presence of a vehicle that may enter the intersection from an approaching cross street.

Here’s how it works…

• Loop detectors on both the major road (US 68) and the minor road (SR 123) will detect vehicles as drivers approach the intersection and activate a set of flashing warning lights.
• As the driver on SR 123 approaches the intersection, the motorist will see the STOP and corresponding ICWS “Traffic Approaching - When Flashing” signs and beacon lights.
• If the ICWS detects a vehicle on US 68, the system will display the dynamic warning to alert the driver on SR 123 that a vehicle is approaching the intersection on US 68.
• The driver on US 68 will see a similar set of signs that read “Entering Traffic - When Flashing” if a motorist on SR 123 is detected waiting at or proceeding through the intersection.
• The alerts on either route will remain active while vehicles are detected at the intersection, indicating that it may be inadvisable for the SR 123 driver to proceed and cautioning the US 68 motorist of possible vehicles entering the intersection.

While the ICWS is used to enhance safety and support motorists’ decision-making when approaching an intersection, it is not intended to deter motorists from complying with regulatory signs and exercising safe-driving practices. Motorists should understand and recognize that ICWS alerts are intended to provide supplemental warning information.

Crews from Complete General Construction mobilized operations today, February 28, and all work is anticipated to be completed in early spring. Throughout the project, traffic impacts should be kept to a minimum, and traffic will be maintained on both routes with the use of flaggers as needed.

For more information contact: 
Kathleen Fuller, public information officer
Ohio Department of Transportation - District 9
740-774-8834 (o); Kathleen.fuller@dot.ohio.gov

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