Bridge work to close part of Kettering road with Ohio 48 site of detours, traffic restrictions

Work by Vectren will impact traffic at the Far Hills/Stroop intersection starting Tuesday at 7 p.m. until Wednesday morning. Traffic will be maintained, but lane restrictions will be in place, according to the city.

Traffic on West Dorothy Lane will be detoured between Southern Boulevard and Far Hills (Ohio 48) as that part of the road closes April 12 and April 13 due to the Ridgeway bridge work, Kettering officials said.

The detour routes in both directions for West Dorothy will use Southern, West Stroop and Far Hills from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. both nights, according to the city.

“We’re not anticipating major traffic issues and that’s the whole reason we’re doing this work at night…to avoid heavy traffic delays,” Kettering Assistant City Manager Steve Bergstresser said.

“If motorists are traveling on the west side of Kettering – Dorothy, Stroop, Far Hills – during the evening hours or overnight on those days, just be aware of workers in the area, follow the signs, reduce your speed. All the typical things you should do in the work zone,” he added.

Local traffic will be maintained on West Dorothy, but the road will be blocked at the Ridgeway bridge, according to the city.

West Dorothy will close so five steel beams can be installed, Bergstresser said. Each of them is about 114 feet long and weighs around 35,000 pounds, he added.

“Putting the beams in place will be quite an accomplishment,” Bergstesser said. “It’s really going to start to look like new bridge once that work is complete in the next couple weeks.”

The bridge work awarded to Brumbaugh Construction began last year and is expected to be complete in August, he said.

Construction of the new bridge will be about $2.67 million with a public art component budgeted at $350,000, Kettering records show.

The Ohio Department of Transportation is funding most of the costs, according to city documents.

The bridge has had a weight limit which includes “emergency vehicle load restrictions,” barring Kettering’s largest fire truck from crossing it, Bergstresser has said.

A section of Ridgeway from Oak Knoll Drive in Oakwood to Canterbury Drive in Kettering is closed for duration of the project, he said.