Hillside slide closes road for months after asphalt splits, crumbles

A stretch of road in Miamisburg and Miami Twp. will remain closed well into 2019 as officials work to stabilize a nearby hillside and earth beneath the ground before repairing the asphalt.

Lower Miamisburg Road has been closed between South Union Road and Dee Avenue since the spring “due to significant roadway slip failure,” according to the Miamisburg officials.

Miamisburg City Engineer Bob Stanley said the hillside terrain near the road’s edge and heavy spring rains were contributing factors in causing the asphalt to buckle and separate – several inches in some cases.

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“It’s a fairly significant failure as you can see from the drop in elevation,” Stanley said. “It’s mainly the water, the saturation, the heavy rain.”

Soil borings, surveying, and preliminary engineering design on the project to repair the portion of road – about one half mile – just west of the Great Miami River has cost the city about $30,000 since it closed, according to Stanley.

How much it will cost to fix the road is not expected to be known until the end of this month, he said.

Geo-technical engineers have been developing design options for significant hillside stabilization and roadway repairs, according to the city.

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Miamisburg officials said the city is working with the Montgomery County Transportation Improvement District and the county engineer’s office to manage and expedite the project.

Construction should begin later this year, but is not expected to be completed until at least spring, according to the city.

“If we went back and just tried to repair this like a normal roadway repair, it’s going to continue to do the same thing,” Stanley said. “We’ve got to take care of the stabilization issue on the hillside first – and then come back and repair the road.”

Stanley described a two-part process, with crews spending the coming months building two underground walls to stabilize the area “behind the guardrail.” Stanley said.

When that’s done, crews can rebuild the road, likely in the spring.

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