ODOT to host open house on new road plans
The Ohio Department of Transportation will host an open house Thursday, Aug. 6, to unveil revised plans for the state Route 32 corridor in eastern Hamilton County.
State transportation officials now are proposing to make improvements along state Route 32 from U.S. 50 in Fairfax to Bells Lane in the Eastgate area of Union Township.
They will make their case at the open house, where the public will be able to review proposed plans and question project leaders from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Nagel Middle School, 1500 Nagel Road in Anderson Township.
The Ohio Department of Transportation had planned to relocate state Route 32 through Newtown and Mariemont with a new road that would have gone through the Little Miami State and National Scenic River Valley west over the Little Miami State and National Scenic River.
Public opposition contributed to altering that plan, which was part of the Eastern Corridor Program of projects designed to promote connectivity, access, safety and economic development between Clermont County and downtown Cincinnati.
“Instead of creating a new road, we will look to see if improvements to existing U.S. 50 north near Mariemont or state Route 32 south near Newtown will help to provide improved connectivity between Clermont and Hamilton counties,” said Brian Cunningham, communications manager for the Ohio Department of Transportation’s district office in Lebanon.
Brief presentations will be made at 4:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Aug. 6 open house, at which the public will be invited to submit written comments to the project team.
People also have through Friday, August 21, to comment on the plans at easterncorridor.org.
Improvements at the Interstate 275 and state Route 32 interchange — also part of the Eastern Corridor Program – are scheduled to be completed later this summer.
The Ohio Department of Transportation also plans to improve state Route 32 between Eastgate Boulevard and Olive Branch-Stonelick Road.
In related road news, construction of a roundabout by Jungle Jim’s International Market on Eastgate South Drive should start in August.
That’s according to Union Township Administrator Ken Geis, who said he expects transportation officials to award the project to a bidder this month.
“That project is set to be complete before Thanksgiving,” Geis said.
The roundabout will be built at the intersection of Clapper Lane and Eastgate South Drive by Jungle Jim’s at 4450 Eastgate South Drive.
Also to be completed this year:
•A road tunnel that will allow northbound I- 275 traffic headed east on state Route 32 to bypass some traffic and traffic signals and emerge beyond Eastgate Boulevard.
• The extension of Ivy Pointe Boulevard from its intersection with Ferguson Drive a quarter mile to Aicholtz Road.
The improvement and reconnection of Aicholtz Road from Eastgate Boulevard to Mt. Carmel Tobasco Road should finish at the end of 2016 or the beginning of 2017.
Ohio and Clermont County are spending more than $80 million on separate road construction and improvements in the Eastgate area.
“As everyone can see, a lot of the work is progressing now,” Geis said.
“Some modifications have occurred.
“The contraflow (temporary lane reversal to allow construction work) is off and the full-lane traffic on 275 is back,” Geis said.
“The exit/entrance ramps to 275 southbound are now back in operation.”
There will be no respite in road work for transportation officials after improvements at the I-275 and state Route 32 interchange wrap up this year.
“Immediately thereafter that project will move east, probably to the Bach Buxton (Road) area for work in that intersection - which will entail a new interchange on that site,” Geis said.
Want to know more about what is happening in Union Township? Follow me on Twitter @jeannehouck.