The Grandin Road side has been closed for several months and crews will be constructing a roundabout on the east side of the Little Miami River in southern Warren County.
“It’s coming along well,” Tunison said. “But there’s still a lot of work to do such as getting fill on the King Avenue side of the hill and the demolition of the old bridge.”
Tunison said that was only one part of the project crews will be working on.
In Kings Mills, west of the Little Miami River, the $2.8 million King Avenue at King Court intersection improvements include construction of a mini-roundabout in front of the Kings Mansion as well as left turn lanes into Kings Mills Elementary School. It will also include improvements to the curve on King Avenue south of Miami Street that will allow two larger vehicles such as school buses or trucks travelling in opposite directions to pass safely. A new water main on King Avenue from Church Street to College Street is also included in this portion of the project which will result in a 12-week closure of King Avenue.
In addition to the intersection improvements, a $500,000 sidewalk and drainage improvements project is also planned on King Avenue from 200-feet south of Miami Street to 150-feet south of Kings Court.
The detour for this closure will continue to utilize King Avenue, Columbia Road, Mason-Morrow-Millgrove Road, and Ohio 48. That portion of the Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail has been closed due to the construction.
With the reopening of Grandin Road from Peters Cartridge Factory Apartments/Cartridge Brewing toward Ohio 48, the King Avenue side will be closed to complete the roadway improvements and to demolish the existing King Avenue Bridge over the Little Miami River. Tunison said that project would start sometime in July and take about a month to complete.
Tunison said the $22 million bridge replacement project will also include a curve realignment to connect the new bridge with King Avenue. He said access to the Peters Cartridge Factory Apartments and to Cartridge Brewing will be maintained at all times from Ohio 48 to Grandin Road.
The new bridge will continue to have two lanes across the Little Miami River, but the lanes will be widened and will also include safety shoulders in both directions, according to the engineer’s office. Tunison said the new bridge will be built upstream from the current bridge and will also feature a new 10-foot multi-use path that will separate pedestrians from traffic. A tunnel is also being built for a portion of the bike trail that will separate the trail from Grandin Road.
Construction is projected to be completed by December 2023. The engineer’s office is managing the project and is partnering with the Ohio Department of Transportation, the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments, the Ohio Public Works Commission, the cities of South Lebanon and Mason, and Deerfield Twp.
About 50 miles of the 78-mile Little Miami Scenic Bike Trail, from Hedges Road in Greene County to Terrace Park, is managed by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. ODNR officials said an estimated 1.2 million people use the trail each year.
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