The Butler County Engineer's
Office has received a special award from the American Society
of Highway Engineer's (ASHE) for improvements to the Stillwell
Beckett / Woods Station Road intersection in Reily Township.
This major safety upgrade was granted the 2006 Donald C. Schramm
Transportation Improvement Award in the category of projects
with a construction cost of under $2 million.
Completed last year,
the project realigned Stillwell Beckett Road, eliminating a dangerous
curve where Woods Station intersects. "The entire intersection
was completely reconfigured making it much safer for the traveling
public," said Wilkens. "We're proud that ASHE has recognized
the scope of this project and its significance to the local area."
Projects are submitted
for the Schramm Award based upon unique characteristics and difficult
challenges such as special construction techniques, maintenance
of traffic, and funding and right-of-way issues. "This project
did present an interesting set of circumstances that we were
able to work very much in our favor for the benefit of the taxpayers
and motorists," Wilkens noted. "Much of the credit
goes to our Design, Right-of-Way, and Construction Departments
for the way they worked together to make this project happen
in such an efficient manner."
The Stillwell Beckett
Road project was the second major safety improvement in the immediate
area in recent years. The BCEO originally eliminated two dangerous
railroad crossings at Law and Pierson Roads and completely realigned
what is now Woods Station Road while significantly upgrading
the Woods Station railroad crossing.
