Bellbrook trying to find solution for Little Sugarcreek Road

Credit: Staff photo by Jeremy P. Kelley

Credit: Staff photo by Jeremy P. Kelley

Bellbrook wants to find a solution for fixing Little Sugarcreek Road, a road that’s structural integrity has been called into question in recent years.

The road has slipped several times during heavy rains over the past few years, Bellbrook City Manager Melissa Dodd said.

Geotechnical engineering firm Terracon did 10 borings on Monday and Tuesday on the entire length of Little Sugarcreek Road within the city limits. The company is examining what is under the road so that the city can make an informed decision about how to stop the road from slipping.

“We are trying to prepare because we know it is a problem area,” Dodd said.

Dodd said the city will get an analysis from Terracon by the end of April. This analysis will provide some options for fixing the road that will be further evaluated by the city’s engineering firm, LJB, Dodd said. The city hired Terracon for $18,000 to bore down to the bedrock this week, the analysis and report to be given later this month.

In 2019, Bellbrook hired Terracon to do one boring and a feasibility study for some potential solutions.

The study indicated the bedrock needs shored up underneath a portion of Little Sugarcreek Road where the edge started to slip away after heavy rains the previous February.

A more detailed analysis of the geology is needed, the study says, but work to fix just that portion underneath the roadway could cost $1.1 million, according to previous reporting in the Dayton Daily News.

Dodd said it could cost between $7.2 million and $8.9 million to fix the entire length of the roadway — which is more than the city’s 2021 operating budget at $6.8 million. The city plans to fix the road, most likely in phases, between Franklin Street and Vineyard Way.

The road doesn’t slip all the time, Dodd said, but the city would like to be prepared for the next time it does.

“We’re anxious to get the results and see what we’re up against,” Dodd said.

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