Sue Kiesewetter reports for The Cincinnati Enquirer:
The widening of Butler-Warren Road should ease congestion for thousands of motorists in southeast Butler County and southwest Warren County by year’s end.
Plans call for a 2.2-mile stretch of the road between Tylersville and Liberty Way/Mason roads to be widened from two to five lanes at a cost of almost $10 million.
About 15,000 cars use the road daily, often facing gridlock at peak periods of the day, said Neil Tunison, Warren County engineer.
“Part of the thinking in improving the road is the potential to utilize the Liberty Way interchange with I-75 and relieve the pressure on Tylersville Road,’’ said Butler County Engineer Greg Wilkens.
“Tylersville Road in that area is one of the most used county roads. Whatever we can do to move traffic away from that interchange will be helpful.’’
About 50,000 cars from Warren and Butler counties use the stretch of Tylersville between Cox Road and Interstate 75 on a daily basis, Wilkens said.
Improvements are slated to begin Feb. 27 and will be done by low-bidder John R. Jurgenson Co. Along with widening the road, curbs and gutters will be installed. A walking and biking path will be constructed on the west side of the road between Tylersville and Hampton Cove Court.
A federal grant will pay 60 percent of the construction costs, with Butler and Warren counties each contributing 20 percent, said Chris Petrocy, spokesman for the Butler County Engineer’s Office.
The work will be done in four phases, with the first being the most disruptive to motorists. Butler-Warren will be closed from 450 feet north of Tylersville Road to just south of Liberty Way/Mason Road for four months beginning Feb. 27, weather permitting.
During the first phase, traffic will detour west on Tylersville, north on Cox and east on Liberty Way. Southbound traffic would reverse the route.
The second phase is expected to start in the early summer and involves reconstruction of the intersection at Butler-Warren and Liberty Way/Mason Road. Traffic will be maintained.
The third phase of work begins in mid-summer and includes rebuilding a section of Butler-Warren from Liberty Way/Mason Road, north to Bethany. There might be several short closings of two to three days each.
The final phase will be finished in spring 2013 and includes construction of the path, final paving, and lane striping.
This is the second major Warren County road project in the area, Tunison said. Last fall work Jurgensen was awarded a $7.1 million contract to widen Bethany Road from Butler-Warren east, about 1.5 miles. That project should be finished in mid-2013.
Both projects were recommended a 2005 study of improvements needed to southwest Warren County, Tunison said.
“Having Butler County take the lead on this – Butler-Warren Road – project has really helped us so we can concentrate on Bethany Road,” Tunison said. “It’s been good to use their expertise.’’\
