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City starts engineering work for I-75 ramp

Westbound traffic will merge onto I-75 rather than turn left.

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By Lawrence Budd, Staff Writer 4:11 PM Friday, December 16, 2011

SPRINGBORO — The city plans to hire consultants to begin preliminary engineering on a new ramp from Ohio 73 onto northbound Interstate 75.

The city was authorized to hire a consultant after receiving $200,000 in funds through the first application for funding through the new Warren County Transportation Improvement District.

The district was created this year by Warren County Commissioners at the urging of County Engineer Neil Tunison.

“We’re interested in using it as a way to speak as one voice for federal and state funding,” Tunison told commissioners in January. “That will allow us to all work together and move forward.”

The application also sought funding for the long-awaited projects at Western Row and Fields-Ertel roads in southwestern Warren County.

In Springboro, the new ramp will allow drivers westbound on Ohio 73 to merge onto I-75, rather than wait in line to turn across eastbound traffic onto the existing northbound ramp.

For years, the city has struggled to identify owners of the land, formerly the site of a BP gas station, for funding for the project.

The project was excluded from the ongoing widening of I-75 through Warren County, including work on the bridge over Ohio 73.

The city plans to cover the rest of preliminary engineering costs, about $200,000.

The city still is awaiting a decision on an application for $2.5 million of the estimated $4.5 million needed for construction.

“I actually still see a light at the end of the rainbow,” City Manager Chris Thompson said during a Springboro City Council work session earlier this month.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com.

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