Butler County Engineer
Greg Wilkens announces that his office is working on plans to
improve Cincinnati Dayton Road at the Ohio 129 interchange in
Liberty Township. Slated for construction in 2014, the project
is currently in the preliminary engineering phase with environmental
studies and early design plans under way.
The proposed improvement
will add a lane in each direction from Liberty Centre Drive on
the south side of Ohio 129 to Liberty One Drive north of the
highway. As part of the project, a new lane will also be added
to each exit ramp from Ohio 129 to accommodate left turns, and
a new right turn lane will be built on the west leg of Yankee
Road. Additionally, new mast arm mounted traffic signals will
be installed at the following intersections along Cincinnati
Dayton Road: Liberty Centre Drive, eastbound Ohio 129 exit/entry
ramps, westbound exit/entry ramps, Yankee Road, and Liberty One
Drive.
"These upgrades
will greatly improve safety and traffic flow in the area,"
said Wilkens. "This is vitally important considering the
commercial growth and increased traffic counts we've seen, but
the presence of the new Children's Hospital and other medical
facilities at this location make it absolutely critical that
the roads remain free of congestion for emergency vehicles."
Indeed, the official
Purpose and Need Statement for this project points out that "the
project will reduce idling times at the intersections, which
currently experience long delays. Retail, commercial, and residential
growth as well as new medical facilities in the area necessitate
that roadway planners stay ahead of the growth and accommodate
any anticipated traffic pressures accordingly. It is imperative
that the highways and roadways in the vicinity of the interchange
remain free of congestion and backups to ensure proper emergency
response times."
Traffic counts on Cincinnati
Dayton Road at the Ohio 129 ramps have increased from roughly
23,000 vehicles per day (vpd) in 2003 to almost 30,000 vpd in
2011. "With more commercial and retail growth planned for
the area, those counts can only be expected to climb," Wilkens
noted. "We believe that the planned improvements will benefit
this highly traveled corridor which feeds the bulk of Liberty
Township and its primary business district."
Present estimates put
the project cost at nearly $2.5 million, which includes right-of-way
acquisition, utility relocation, and actual construction. The
BCEO has secured a federal grant to pay for the majority of the
work while local BCEO funds and private money will be used to
round out the balance of the cost.
