Construction equipment
is rolling once again at Cincinnati Dayton and Yankee Roads as
crews embark on phase two of a four-phased
plan designed to facilitate additional commercial development.
Major new businesses slated for the area include a new Kroger
and a Children's Hospital campus.
According to Butler
County Engineer Greg Wilkens, the current phase involves building
an additional turn lane on northbound Cincinnati Dayton Road
at Yankee, reworking and upgrading Liberty One Drive, and widening
Yankee Road to five lanes from Cincinnati Dayton Road west, tapering
to three lanes at Dutchland Boulevard. Additionally, the traffic
signals at the Cincinnati Dayton / Yankee Road intersection will
be upgraded and new signals will be installed at Cincinnati Dayton
and Liberty One Drive.
A contract for the
current project was awarded to SK Construction of Middletown
which submitted a low bid of $1,689,035. Funding will come from
a Butler County TIF (Tax Increment Financing) while right-of-way
was contributed by interests from the private sector.
Work on the current
phase will be completed by June 2006. Most of the work along
Cincinnati Dayton Road and to the east will finish up by the
end of this year. The Yankee Road portion west of Cincinnati
Dayton Road and the new signalization will complete the project
by June.
"We couldn't be
more excited about this transformation," said Liberty Township
Administrator Dina Minneci. "Residents and travelers of
Liberty Township will benefit greatly from a more efficient and
convenient roadway system. In addition, the business associated
with such improvements will assist in alleviating the residential
property tax burden and provide services that otherwise may not
have been possible, such as the medical facilities associated
with Children's Hospital. Extreme makeovers such as this are
due to the dedicated and top notch professionals associated with
the Butler County Engineer's Office, ODOT, and Butler County."
Noted Wilkens, "As
commercial development thrives, the Engineer's Office is in a
unique position to provide access to these conveniences. We study
traffic patterns that will result from future development and
build accordingly. The utilization of Tax Increment Financing
allows us to stay ahead of the game by accelerating projects
which we could not otherwise afford to build, thereby improving
traffic flow and increasing safety on existing roads and establishing
new roads where needed."
A Look Back
and Future Plans
Land around the Cincinnati
Dayton / Yankee Road intersection has seen steady development
ever since the Butler County Veterans Highway (Ohio 129) was
completed in 1999. Now situated less than a quarter mile from
the Highway, the intersection was shifted north when Yankee Road
was relocated to make way for the Highway's interchange at Cincinnati
Dayton Road.
The area quickly became
an attractive location for businesses wishing to locate in Liberty
Township. A plan to upgrade the roadways and install new local
streets was launched to help accommodate the growth and the additional
traffic that would be generated.
Phase one of the plan
was completed in 2003 when Yankee Road was extended east of Cincinnati
Dayton Road. The $877,000 project was paid for with Butler County
TIF funds.
After the second phase
is completed next summer, work will begin on phase three which
includes looping the Yankee Road extension around to Liberty
One Drive and extending Lakota Lane south to connect with Liberty
One. In addition to providing the business complex with two outlets
to Cincinnati Dayton Road, completion of the third phase will
also mean improved traffic flow to and from Lakota East High
School since there will be an additional access to the school.
The fourth and final
phase is still several years away according to Wilkens, but it
will involve adding additional lanes to the exit ramp from westbound
Ohio 129 to Cincinnati Dayton Road. The BCEO will be working
with the Ohio Department of Transportation on the design and
implementation of this project.
