Paving project on major street through Trotwood begins Friday

Bridge on Free Pike by Ohio 49 is separate project that has months to go
Workers set more sandbags on the road closed signs at Ohio 49 and East Main Street Friday February 10, 2023. The bridge over Dry Run is going to be repaired because of erosion. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Credit: JIM NOELKER

Workers set more sandbags on the road closed signs at Ohio 49 and East Main Street Friday February 10, 2023. The bridge over Dry Run is going to be repaired because of erosion. JIM NOELKER/STAFF

TROTWOOD — The repaving of a 2-mile stretch of Free Pike/Main Street through a busy section of Trotwood is expected to begin Friday, and will wrap up by the end of the month.

The part of Free Pike/Main Street to be repaved runs from Brumbaugh Boulevard at the city’s east border, west past Ohio 49, past the new courts building and library branch, ending at the intersection of Wolf Creek Pike.

City officials said construction will be completed during the night, between the hours of 7 p.m. and 5 a.m. The project is expected to be completed by May 30. Roads are expected to remain open, but with some possible traffic pattern changes and/or minor traffic delays, officials said.

The city of Trotwood received grant funding through the Ohio Department of Transportation to mill and resurface the pavement, and the city’s local match for the project is $507,488.

Trotwood Deputy City Manager Stephanie Kellum said the repaving is unrelated to the ongoing county repairs that closed the Free Pike Bridge, 100 feet west of Ohio 49. The Montgomery County Engineer’s Office previously said that bridge had structural damage that caused the pavement to settle. That bridge repair is expected to be completed in September of this year.

In November 2022, voters in Trotwood narrowly approved the city’s request for a five-year, 0.5% income tax increase, with funds to be used for road improvements.

According to Kellum, resurfacing efforts from tax levy funding has already begun.

“We have begun resurfacing this year using some of the funds we have received from the quarterly income reporting from businesses,” she said. “Without the quarterly reporting, we would have been able to only pave two roads in addition to meeting our local match for projects like the Free Pike resurfacing.”

Kellum said the city plans to spend $1.2 million this year for the resurfacing roads throughout the city.

“This would not have been possible without proceeds from the temporary income tax increase,” she said.

Results from a 2017 Pavement Condition Rating (PCR) study show nearly 280 of Trotwood’s 411 total lane miles of roads fall under the category of “poor to fair.”

Kellum said any roads categorized as “poor to fair” will be treated as priority for resurfacing, though annual budgets will determine which roads are completed in any given year.

For questions or concerns regarding the project, contact the public works department at 937-837-1702.

Eric Schwartzberg contributed to this report.

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