Oakwood Far Hills sewer work by high school delayed until after July 4 holiday

OAKWOOD — The start of a $2.1 million Ohio 48 sewer project expected to slow traffic with lane closures for months in Oakwood is being pushed back a few weeks.

Excavation for the Far Hills Avenue storm sewer reconstruction is expected to begin after July 4, following the demolition of a city-owned house in the 1300 block that was built over a pipe involved the work, Oakwood project engineer Chris Kuzma said.

The demolition is expected to occur in mid-June and should not impact traffic, he added.

City officials had talked about the sewer work — which will occur near Oakwood High School/Junior High — beginning in mid-June. But they made the change after talking Friday with contractor Kinnison Excavating.

Once the infrastructure project starts, crews will close lanes on one side of Far Hills at a time, redirecting northbound traffic into southbound lanes of the boulevard and vice versa as the work progresses, Kuzma said.

“We actually discussed that pretty in-depth,” he said. “We’re going to modify our maintenance of traffic plan slightly. There will be no full closures, or we don’t anticipate any. We’ll be diverting traffic to one side or the other of the boulevard rather than keeping one lane (open) on either side.”

Ohio 48 is one of the most traveled roads in the Montgomery County suburbs south of Dayton. It also runs through Kettering, Centerville and Washington Twp. The city is targeting November for the project’s completion.

Much of the sewer system in the work zone was installed before the 1950s, officials have said. The work had to be done this year as Ohio 48 in Oakwood is set to be resurfaced in 2024, Kuzma said.

The project will include replacing about 3,050 feet of pipe on several Oakwood roads, including the state route, officials said.

The work will involve one block on Far Hills from Dellwood Avenue to Greenmount Boulevard, plus one block areas ending at the state route on Dellwood and Forrer Boulevard, according to the city.

The work closest to the school is expected to be done in mid-August prior to classes resuming, Kuzma said.

The project will also impact Devereux Drive from Forrer to just north of Ashridge Road, officials said.

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