I-75 Corridor

$22 million interchange at Austin Pike to open in June

Greg Hanahan, Miami Twp. administrator, is seen on land being developed near the new Austin Pike interchange in southern Montgomery County. Despite the tough economy, development continues apace along the I-75 corridor between Dayton and Cincinnati. Staff photos by Chris Stewart

Chris Stewart/Staff Greg Hanahan, Miami Twp. administrator, is seen on land being developed near the new Austin Pike interchange in southern Montgomery County. Despite the tough economy, development continues apace along the I-75 corridor between Dayton and Cincinnati. Staff photos by Chris Stewart

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By Kristin McAllister, Staff Writer Updated 11:19 PM Saturday, March 20, 2010

The $22 million interchange at Interstate 75 and Austin Pike is well ahead of schedule but won’t be open to traffic until mid-June.

“It’s six months ahead,” said Bob Hoag, director of engineering of the Montgomery County Transportation Improvement District. “There still are a number of things that need to be completed before we can even allow traffic on it, including for safety reasons.”

When it’s completed, the interchange will include sidewalks, bike paths, ornamental concrete medians and noise retention walls. It’s designed to handle 40,000 cars a day, the estimated traffic load by 2015.

The Transportation Improvement District is in charge of the project, along with the Ohio Department of Transportation and Cincinnati-based contractor John R. Jurgensen Co. Much of the funding came from state and federal sources, including $20 million in state funds for the interchange and $6 million in federal stimulus money for a four-way continuous flow intersection at Ohio 741.

The continuous flow configuration is the first of its kind in Ohio and one of the first in the country, said Scott LeBlanc, ODOT District 7 area engineer.

The main innovation is a set of left-turn lanes that cut across oncoming traffic a few hundred feet before the intersection. Signals are timed so that left-turning traffic typically doesn’t have to wait for incoming cars to pass before turning.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-9338 or kmcallister@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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