A new traffic light will be installed at Northpointe Drive and Military Road

ZANESVILLE, Ohio – The Muskingum County Commissioners and the Mayor of Zanesville have announced that a new traffic light will be installed at the intersection of Military Road and Northpointe Drive.

The county and city will share the cost of constructing the traffic light and the city will be responsible for maintaining it. Perram Electric was the winning and lowest bidder and will install the light for $371,552.50.

Officials said they expect the installation to be completed in March or April. According to the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s Crash Dashboard, there have been nine accidents at this intersection in 2026 so far.

“There are present traffic congestion issues, and we’ve all collectively sit around and discussed the new housing developments that are going in the area, with more parents trying to take their children probably to West Muskingum Schools,” Mayor Don Mason said. “And so therefore the traffic situation is not going to be alleviated. We even think after I-70 opens, if it ever gets done, that there’s still going to be a great deal of traffic around 146, Northpointe, and this given area. ”

A potential solution that many in the public have proposed for this intersection was a roundabout. Mason explains why a traffic light was preferred over a roundabout.

“Two reasons: money and timing,” Mason said. “When we looked at the general estimates of what a roundabout would be, it was a minimum of 5 and more likely closer to 7 million dollars. There would have been a traffic disruption for about two years, cause you would have to build a couple of temporary lanes to get traffic North and South while the roundabout was under construction.”

Mason says that with I-70 still under construction, it would not be good for traffic to further restrict movement through a project like a roundabout.

The Muskingum County Commissioners also discussed ongoing efforts to create turn lanes for State Route 146 to turn onto Dillon School Road to ease traffic congestion. According to the crash portal, State Route 146 is the fifth highest route in the county for accidents.

UPDATED 9/18/2026 @ 1:38 p.m.: Content was added to address the alternative solution for a roundabout at the intersection of Northpointe Drive and Military Road that has been a popular topic when discussing this issue.