“Investing in efficient infrastructure is an investment in quality of life,” Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Once complete, these projects will significantly reduce traffic congestion and improve roadway safety.”
ODOT will also fund phase two of the Yellow Springs Street reconstruction, which will include adding curb ramps at the intersections on Yellow Springs Street in the city of Springfield, a $4.6 million project.
Other Clark County improvements include:
- Repair of two U.S. Route 40 bridges, one over Jackson Creek west of Springfield and one on the east side of Clark County, just west of Sylvan Shores Drive. The projects will cost $290,000 and $950,000, respectively.
- Guardrail improvements along U.S. Route 40; $240,000.
- County Road 235 (Knollwood Road) bridge replacement over Chapman’s Creek near Tremont City; $1.07 million.
- Bridge repair on North Yellow Springs Street in Springfield; $270,000.
While roads get the spotlight, ODOT’s kickoff event Thursday was at Taylorsville Metropark in Vandalia due to a bike project. Slated for a June start date, ODOT will provide funding for the $3.5 million Vandalia bikeway connector project from the existing bikeway along National Road at Foley Drive to the Great Miami River Trail in Five Rivers MetroPark near the Taylorsville Dam.
“We strongly believe this will be a transformational project, giving our residents a way to bike and make a connection with this trail, and also to give other users of this trail a way into our city to see what we have to offer,” Vandalia Assistant City Manager Rob Cron said Thursday.
ODOT is continuing its $103 million effort to rehab sections of I-75 just north and south of downtown Dayton.
The south part of that project (mainly between exits 47 and 50) is slated to continue until summer 2025, according to ODOT. The north section (from exit 54C to exit 58) will keep going into 2026.
Sixty projects are scheduled to begin this year in ODOT’s District 7, which includes Auglaize, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Logan, Miami, Mercer, Montgomery, and Shelby counties. Within these counties, ODOT is responsible for 4,122 lane miles and 1,380 bridges.
In District 8, which includes Butler, Clermont, Clinton, Greene, Hamilton, Preble and Warren counties, 107 projects are planned this year. Throughout this district, ODOT is responsible for 3,841 lane miles and 1,391 bridges.
Not all local road work this summer involves ODOT, which is responsible for the highway transportation system, including federal and state routes outside of municipalities and all interstate routes.
Most local routes, including residential streets, are maintained by the city, village, county, or township, depending on where the route is located.
Though ODOT is not directly responsible for the upkeep of inter-municipality roadways, the agency can assist in various ways with maintenance and construction projects that are spearheaded by local jurisdictions.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Carrie Koesters, construction engineer for ODOT District 7 which includes Clark and Champaign counties, said the agency typically operates under a home rule provision, which allows individual municipalities to take care of their own infrastructure.
However, depending on factors like pavement condition and cost, municipalities can request ODOT to lead a project.
When pavement on state and U.S. routes within local jurisdictions reaches the end of its life, ODOT contributes along with local municipalities to major resurfacing or reconstruction, Koesters said. This is often when the work is no longer considered maintenance, but falls under preservation.
“We’ll run those projects just like any other project we are responsible for,” Koesters said, adding that in these cases, ODOT may step in without being requested.
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