“But as they’ve figured out locations for some of the ramps, I think it has brought the cost down a little from what we were afraid it might be.”
The project involves extending Ohio 129 to a new multi-lane Cox Road roundabout and modifying the Interstate 75 ramps, so there won’t be weaving or crisscrossing traffic.
Wilkens has secured $11.5 million in federal grants through the OKI Regional Council of Governments, and the county will pay the rest. The project can’t begin until 2021, when the OKI funding becomes available.
Schwieterman said there is another part to the project that likely won’t be built right away.
“We’re doing the majority of it, but what is still unknown is ultimately it will carry east of the Cox Road extension and tie down into Liberty Way,” he said. “That most likely will not be built originally, that was planned to happen more when that 90-acre property develops. That may be a separate phase, it may not even be built by us, it may be built by a developer.”
Some have expressed frustration that the plan to fix the interchange was what local officials originally wanted from the interchange.
The Ohio Department of Transportation would not approve the design when the interchange was first built, said Liberty Twp. Trustee Christine Matacic.
“The original plans that we wanted are what they are recommending that they modify it to today,” she said, adding there was “a lot of strain” between local and ODOT officials over the issue.
“We went through it, we got Liberty Way interchange in, we paid for it 100 percent locally,” she said. “I’ve gone on the record with ODOT saying it’s time for you guys to step up a little bit more. Because of all these antics, it’s costing us more in the long run to do this the right way.”
MORE: Another $1M: Decade-old Butler County interchange that already needs fix getting more funds
The county and Liberty and West Chester townships financed the $40 million-plus project with tax increment funding (TIF) money, and the county will do the same now. The county refinanced the bonds in 2016 and expected to save $10 million.
Schwieterman said the county Transportation Improvement District also just received a $200,000 grant from the state to help purchase right-of-way property for the project.
The county commissioners approved two Local Public Agency agreements with the Ohio Department of Transportation on Monday, one for the Liberty Way project and another $1.7 million project to add turn lanes on Tylersville Road between Lakota Springs Drive and Lakota Hills Drive. The agreements allow the county to manage projects that involve federal funding.
OKI will pay for 90 percent of the 2023 safety project. Schwieterman said officials have to apply for federal money from OKI years in advance and are already seeking funds needed for projects in 2025.
“That area came up as a problematic area for some crashes, mainly rear-end crashes because there’s no turn lanes through there,” Schwieterman said.
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