LEBANON — The city of Lebanon is purchasing land in preparation for the construction of a new thoroughfare they will build next year.
The 4,300-foot road would connect Ohio 123 and Ohio 63, stretching from where Hart Road dead-ends into Ohio 123 and heading directly south to where Glosser dead-ends with Ohio 63, skirting the western edge of the Harmon Industrial Park.
The road will cost approximately $5.5 million, of which $3.19 million is coming from a federal grant.
The road is necessary to cut down on growing through traffic, particularly large trucks and other industrial traffic, in the narrow streets of downtown Lebanon and the surrounding residential neighborhoods, City Manager Pat Clements said.
The road is expected to decrease traffic by as much as 4,000 vehicles along Ohio 123 as it moves through a residential neighborhood and downtown Lebanon.
A study performed by the city predicted downtown traffic could exceed 7,000 vehicles per day by 2030.
During a briefing to City Council last week, City Engineer Darren Owens said the city would have to spend approximately $705,000 on purchasing 25 parcels of land for the road.Most of the parcels are just small easements, Owens said.
Owens said the owner of one parcel, located at 1002 W. Main St., was disputing the appraised value of their land and the city would file imminent-domain procedures to claim the property.
Some parcels will have additional costs due to relocating businesses and residents from the land, Owens said.
The roadway was first proposed in 1989, although the city did not actively begin pursuing the project until 1999, when it bought some land for the road for $500,000.
A future phase on the project, although not planned yet, would see improvements to Glosser Road to create a connection from Ohio 123 all the way to U.S. 42.
Mayor Amy Brewer said she had been a longtime proponent of the road and believed it was necessary to improve safety and infrastructure in Lebanon.
“We have been working on and talking about this project for a long time,” Brewer said. “This is a huge project, but I think we’ve had the foresight to plan for it. It’s definitely needed to help maintain a reasonable traffic flow in downtown Lebanon.”
Contact this reporter at (513) 696-4544 or jmcclelland@coxohio.com.