City puts Millville Avenue in spotlight to help businesses impacted by road construction

Work will go on through summer 2025.
The $5.1 million Millville Avenue construction project, which started in June 2024 and is planned to wrap up in Summer 2025 is impacting several businesses. The city of Hamilton is helping out by promoting how to access the businesses around the construction, as well as developing a 17-day video series. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

The $5.1 million Millville Avenue construction project, which started in June 2024 and is planned to wrap up in Summer 2025 is impacting several businesses. The city of Hamilton is helping out by promoting how to access the businesses around the construction, as well as developing a 17-day video series. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

The year-long infrastructure improvements being made along Millville Avenue will have an impact on the area’s small businesses until next summer.

While the project is necessary ― miles of new water main needs replacement, new fire hydrants to be installed, new concrete curbs, gutters and driveway aprons, and new asphalt will be laid ― there are several businesses affected by the construction. To help these small businesses, had been providing information on navigating the project since it started in mid-June, and continues by highlighting businesses starting Friday with a video series called “17 Days of Supporting Millville.”

Hamilton City Manager Craig Bucheit said this series is designed “to highlight those businesses as well culminating with a social mixer on Oct. 1 at Nicc and Norm’s.”

“I want to commend our utility infrastructure (department) for working diligently with that, understanding the impact it has on our businesses and residents, and knowing that we’re working very hard to mitigate that impact and work with the residents to make sure that they’re successful,” the city manager said.

A map highlighting the detours around the Millville Avenue construction project in Hamilton, which started in mid-June and will wrap up in Summer 2025. PROVIDED

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The city created a three-pronged detour map, which highlights the truck and vehicle routes detours, but also the interior detour for people to access small businesses, like local restaurants and chains, Ace Hardware, Precious Pup Grooming, Hamilton Hobbies, and Maloney Family Dental

Bucheit said this will help motorists not only avoid the construction, but allow visitors to access small business that do remain open during the lengthy construction.

“We want to highlight that those businesses are there to serve,” he said.

The lengthy $5.1 million construction project, with $830,000 in support from ODOT, will see 4,540 feet of 12-inch and 1,675 feet of 8-inch ductile iron pipe, the replacement of 52 water services with copper pipe, and installation of 12 new fire hydrants.

Hamilton water customers could experience water service interruptions during the connection of the new water main and water service pipes, and some may have multiple interruptions. These interruptions may last 4 to 8 hours for main connections and 30 minutes to an hour for service pipe reconnections.

Concrete replacement work for curbs, sidewalks and driveway aprons, as well as some storm sewer catch basins, began this summer and will continue through the winter. Driveway access would be limited as it takes about a week for concrete to cure, so the city requests homeowners to arrange alternative parking.

There will also be additional gas and water service relocations, and these replacements will begin in early 2025. There would be replacing 20 gas and 36 water services from homes to gas and water mains located in the street. Contractors may need to enter private property for connections, which permission would be obtained prior to entering.

The final street resurfacing is scheduled for Summer 2025 after utility and concrete work is complete.

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