Construction starts this month on Butler County’s 17th roundabout

Butler County’s 17th roundabout will soon be under construction now that commissioners have approved a $1.1 million contract for the work at Hamilton Mason and LeSourdesville West Chester roads.

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Before the commissioners voted to approve the expense Monday, Commissioner T.C. Rogers said he thought the price tag was a little steep, compared to recent roundabout projects.

“We’ve approved roundabout contracts recently. I’m there at that intersection many times during the week and how come it’s over a million bucks?” Rogers asked.

Another roundabout now under construction at Millikin and Yankee roads was priced at $686,169, and the Beckett and Smith roads roundabout that opened last month cost $996,090.

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Butler County Engineer Greg Wilkens told the Journal-News that a number of factors went into the higher cost, including water line work, two landscaping packages and fast-tracking the project.

“We pitched this one to try to get it done in about nine weeks because it’s critical to the traffic out there,” Wilkens said. “That’s another reason the contract price might be up a little too, because the time frame’s cut down.”

The intersection — which straddles Liberty and West Chester townships — will need to be closed to traffic. Work is scheduled to begin June 18.

The commissioners also approved a $2 million contract for widening Princeton Road from Jayfield Drive to Ohio 747. The existing lanes will be expanded from 10 to 11 feet and the paved shoulders to four feet on the 1.8-mile stretch of road.

That project will also include some road closures, according to Wilkens.

As these projects are getting started, another that has had traffic detoured for about a year is set to reopen. The engineer’s office had hoped to reopen Yankee Road this past weekend, but frequent rain stalled lane striping. If the weather cooperates, the road could reopen later this week, according to Chris Petrocy, a spokesman for the engineer’s office.

The $4 million project involved widening Yankee Road between Dutchland Parkway and Princeton Road from two to three lanes — one lane in each direction with a dedicated center left turn lane. A roundabout was constructed at the Yankee and Princeton roads intersection. Contractors also replaced one bridge and widened another. Sidewalks were added between Dutchland Boulevard and Wyandot Lane anda traffic signal was added at Dutchland Boulevard and Yankee Road.

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Another major project is set to get underway Thursday on Cincinnati-Dayton Road — from West Chester Road to Interstate 75 — in West Chester Twp. That $7.8 million road widening project will take two construction seasons, but detours are not part of the plans.

The to-do list for the Butler County Engineer’s Office this year is projected to cost $34 million.

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