Lebanon street to see $2 million of work in ’11

Road will remain open, but will be subject to lane reductions.

LEBANON — One of the city’s more heavily traveled roads will get a $2 million makeover, causing a problem for motorists driving to county offices for the next year.

South East Street between Main and Cook Road will undergo a two-phase reconstruction beginning in the next two or three weeks according to Darren Owens, city engineer for Lebanon. The road is a main thoroughfare leading to Donovan Elementary School, the Louisa Wright Early Childhood Center, and the county administration complex, which includes the county jail and courthouses.

The project will begin with the installation of a new 16-inch water main from Cook Road to Main Street, along with sidewalk and curb and gutter repairs between Main Street and the Harmon Street Bridge. Portions of East Street also will be resurfaced at this time, Owens said.

During this portion of the construction, the road will remain open, although it will have the dreaded orange barrels and at times be cut down to one-lane traffic with flaggers.

Residents are also being cautioned that water service may be disrupted at various points during construction. Owens said any stoppage of water shouldn’t last more than one hour and residents who will be affected by the shutdown would be given two days notice.

The second phase will see complete reconstruction of a portion of East Street between the bridge at Harmon park and East Park Avenue. During this phase of construction, the road will be completely closed. Residents will have restricted access during the second phase of the construction, which will early next year and take until September 2011 to complete.

Owens said a longer portion of East Street, between East Park to Maple avenues, also will require reconstruction, but the city did not have the additional $500,000 needed to fund that project.

The total cost of the project will be approximately $2.27 million and will be handled by Trend Construction. Approximately $460,000 of that cost is being offset by a grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission.

Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.

About the Author