William W. Brayshaw, the Hamilton County Engineer, would like to announce the closing of the high-speed lanes on Ronald Reagan Highway beginning Monday, March 20, 2006, after 9:00 am. Locations will be the east and westbound Blue Rock Road and Livingston Road overpasses.

Work being performed by Prus Construction Co. is bridge rehabilitation and anticipated to last until June 30, 2006 (weather permitting). Any problems/questions should be directed to either Paul Long with Prus Construction at: 513-321-7774 or to Matt Yunger with the Hamilton County Engineer at 513-946-8420.

Expect longer traffic time and delays. Traffic will be maintained. Updates will be released with the progression of the project.

For information on other projects, please visit our web site at: www.hamilton-co.org/engineer http://www.hamilton-co.org/engineer

The eastbound left lane on the State Route 63 bridge over Interstate 75 will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, March 21 for an emergency pothole repair.

For further information, please contact Sharon Smigielski, Public Information Officer, at (513) 933-6511, or Elizabeth Lyons, Public Information Specialist, at (513) 933-6534.

Neil F. Tunison, Warren County Engineer, has announced that, effective Monday, March 20, 2006, Morrow-Woodville Road will be closed to traffic between S.R. 28 and Vandervoort Road for approximately six (6) weeks.

The road closure will be effective Monday morning at approximately 8:00 a.m.

The Warren County Highway Department will be replacing a large culvert on Morrow-Woodville Road.

Traffic will be detoured around the construction site utilizing S.R. 28 and S.R. 133.

Questions relating to the road closure and detour, please contact Roy Henson of the Warren County Engineer’s Office at (513) 695-3301.

William W. Brayshaw, the Hamilton County Engineer, is once again announcing the closing of Nordyke Road at the I-275 Overpass in Anderson Township, on Thursday, January 19, 2006 and Friday, January 20, 2006, between the hours of 9:00 AM and 3:00 PM.

Work being performed by Kokosing is bridge deck demolition. Any problems/questions should be directed to either Gary Obert with Kokosing at 513-231-2950 or to Pat Ashcraft with the Hamilton County Engineer at 513-946-8430.

Detour will be routed over Beechmont SR 125 to Hopper Hill and vice versa.

Closures are set to begin again today, now that the high water from last week has subsided.

If you want to detour around this area, I would take Main Street to B. If headed to downtown Hamilton I would go right, and follow B street to the Columbia Bridge. I would then make a left and cross the bridge to the next light. At that stop, I would make a second left onto Neilan Blvd. and follow the curves into downtown.

You can also get from the west side to downtown by using the Black Street Bridge to Third. I do find however, that this way is VERY slow during the morning rush hour. The good news about the bridge delay is that it is periodic, not constant so you won’t be inconvenienced all day long. Today’s Hamilton Journal has further details about the closings.

I also saw crews back out on Ohio 4 south of 129 in Hamilton. You’ll encounter the usual lane closures as far south as the Hamilton Plaza shopping center. If anyone knows why they keep working in this area, please let me know!

You don’t need to reroute just be aware that it is there.

Cones are also up along Ohio 127 in New Miami, and Augusberger and Seven Mile avenues are both closed to all traffic. Goodbye shortcut to Trenton and West Middletown! I suggest using Ohio 4 if headed into northern Butler county.

All in all it has been a fairly busy Monday. Gas is also back on the rise, with averages prices around Hamilton, at $2.50 for a gallon of unleaded regular.

Hopefully, I’ll have better news for you tomorrow!

Mine was fantastic, with too much sleeping, too much eating, too much shopping (after Christmas sales you know!) and too much couch potato time. I loved it!

In any event, it is great to be back, and I look forward to driving through the year with you.

There are already a couple of spots to be aware of if traveling around Butler County.

First, our friends at the Hamilton Journal News are reporting that the High Street Bridge in Hamilton will not go through the temporary closures for the rest of this week. It seems high water is stopping crews from getting concrete to the site, so we can sail through at least through Friday, when the water is expected to go down. If you have ever been in that area around noon when they close it, it is truly a mess, so enjoy!

I was also in New Miami yesterday, and guess what? You guessed it! My beloved Augsberger Road and Seven Mile Avenues are once again being closed to traffic for an indefinite period of time! Just in time for my return to work! You will need to use Ohio 127 if going from Hamilton’s west side to Trenton.

That is all I have at this point, but I’m sure with each passing day of this new year, things will pick up, and slow downs will

become plentiful. So, for one final time: Happy New Year!

I saw in North Pole, Alaska (on the news) this morning, that the reindeer are feasting, and millions of letters from kids around the world have arrived.

I’ll be out of the office from now through Wednesday Jan 4th, so I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

I look forward to sharing our travels throughout 2006.

Be safe and happy!

My husband and I were three hours into our 5-hour drive to visit former neighbors and their children. The drive proved to be fairly relaxing along I-65 out of Louisville toward Nashville, through rolling hills and farms. We much enjoyed the sunshine and the lack of snow on the ground and the homegrown flavor on the airwaves.

But this one news item made us laugh so hard we nearly steered off the interstate!

The radio news announcer told of a British man who went into a grocery store and decided to steal live lobsters. The less than brainy thief reached into the lobster tank, took out a few lobsters and then tucked them inside his pants.

In a short period of time the thief experienced serious pain!

When the police and emergency medical team arrived, they had to use pliers to pry the lobsters lose from the man. The radio news announcer added that the thief had recovered but would no longer be able to impregnate anyone.

The country radio DJ, in a head-shakin’, finger waggin’ voice, said:

“Now ain’t that a special kind of stupid?�

The roads are very slushy and as temperatures drop this afternoon (as forecast) the roads will undoubtedly become very slick. For the most part, drivers are taking it slow, so I’ve only passed one fender bender on High Street in Hamilton.

I did have an interesting experience with a salt truck yesterday, as crews prepared for the winter weather. I was traveling down Ohio 4 in Fairfield, when I got too close to a truck putting down salt and slag. Let me tell you, the signs on those trucks telling you to stay back 100 feet, are right! I was bombarded with all kinds of rock, and salt, and gunk, and I finally had to swerve into the other lane to avoid getting my windshield busted. Listen to the salt truck people when they tell you to stay back!

I also saw one lane of traffic blocked on Eaton Ave. in Hamilton this morning. They are doing some sort of road work there, so you will have a slight slow down.

All of this snow is making me feel festive (I hope the same for you!) so I think I’ll saddle up my reindeer (also known as my Ford Escape) and put on the Christmas carols and head out to slip and slide!

We’re heading to Ashland City, Tennessee, for a brief visit with some former neighbors. We’re expecting a nice drive through Kentucky to Louisville and then on to Nashville. Ashland City is just northwest of the Grand Ole Opry.

It’s been a long time since we’ve undertaken a winter road trip so preparation is a bit different. We’re adding a blanket and more water and warm clothes to the usual mix of travel items. Plus the sleigh will be loaded with toys for good little girls and boys (five to be exact). I’m looking forward to the scenery, to seeing a new place in the U.S.A. and to rekindling a friendship.

The Map Quest directions are printed out, the neighbors’ requests for Cincinnati foods have been met, and all we have to do yet is shop for a few gifts to take with us.

We’re going on a sleigh ride!

Two cars slid off the state route into drainage ditches just south of Ohio 122. No injuries were reported.

South of that point, the road is wet but clear. Heading north, roads were snow covered and slippery.

My theory on why the roads are worse is that we have far more roads and lanes to maintain and, in real terms, far fewer people to clear them.

Look how Liberty Township has grown in the past 10 years. It would be interesting to see how many more miles of road that they crews have to maintain versus the number of people that are available.

Like I said, I was generally pleased with the roads (even on 75) once I crossed into Butler County last week.

I do not know if the township sublets some of the plowing or if it is all done by township trucks. That would be an interesting topic of discussion.

Fortunately for me, I did not have the major problems that some did in last week’s storm. I must say that Hamilton and Fairfield road crews were exemplary last week, getting the ice off the highway by my Friday morning commute. GOOD JOB!

As for today, the roadwork along Ohio 4 in Hamilton now extends from Ohio 129 & High Street, down 4 to the Fairfield overpass. You’ll encounter many slow downs if using this route. Other than that, traffic has been great around Butler County this morning.

I’m still searching for great Christmas lighting displays for you, and must say that after all the fun I had last week, I’m still trying to top it.

You should try and get to the neighborhood that sits between Ohio 4 and Ohio 127 in Fairfield. There are tons of lights on each street and it is well worth your drive.

If you have places that I haven’t mentioned that I should see please let me know!

Feliz Navidad!

The roads up in Butler that I come in on where in pretty good shape. It kind of surprised me that there is no school today. It is a good thing that the freezing rain didn’t hit like they thought.

My commute last night was a nightmare. It took me 4.5 hours to get home.

We took 275 West home as we figured 75 would be a closed and it was. It took us an hour to get from work to 275. Maybe 10 miles, then another hour to get from 275 across the bridge into Ohio.

It seems that people had nothing better to do in Kentucky than to see all of the people who couldn’t make it up the hill and stare at them instead of proceeding to drive carefully themselves.

It then took us 2 hours to get to Sharonville from the river. If there were any crews working on 275, we didn’t see them as it was horrible the entire trip. My expectation on taking 275 was to be able to go 30 MPH the entire way around. I was sadly mistaken.

I hope that your drive home was better than mine.

Tuesday night, I made my annual trek to Light Up Middletown, which is the free city display at Smith Park. It was as usual, a stunning display of lights on the lake, and since we were close to the airport, I even saw Santa in a helicopter (of lights) and an airplane santa, too.

As I drove around, I noticed news media including our good friends at the Middletown Journal. Cars were lined, and while I agree that the display is great, I have never seen such traffic, or media coverage. In any event, I decided to follow the crowd, and I ended up at the Journal’s annual hot air balloon glow by the airport runway.

Kudos, Kudos, Kudos!!!!! I had the best time standing in the snow, listening to choirs singing Christmas music, and watching hot air balloons glow with huge shots of propane. We got to stand in the middle of all these balloons as they were being filled, and I must tell you it was the newest and neatest Christmas experience ever!

When they were all filled they looked like huge Christmas bulbs. I had the best time amidst the crowd, especially since I just stumbled upon it. Make plans to attend next year, if you missed it, and be sure to check out light up Middletown this year.

If you also happen to be driving about in northeast Butler County, be sure to check out the city of Trenton’s lighting display. Very nice for a small town, and they even had the guts to put a nativity scene in the town square. Again, worth the drive.

As for today’s traffic nothing much to report, although the snow should begin any time.

I’m not worried though. I’ll just remember those balloons in my mind, and be up up and away from all the traffic hassles. (as the song says if only in my dreams!)

Be careful tonight if you are headed out, and remember spring is only 3 months away!