Centerville, Kettering bike path nearly done, linking to safer route over I-675

Crossing lights on Bigger and Whipp roads are needed and “without those flashers, we don’t feel it’s safe for people to try to cross the road.”

That work is expected in late November, along with the light pole in the median on Bigger, he said. The completion date is targeted for Dec. 15.

Once finished, “this work will make the regional trails system more accessible,” Centerville Mayor Brooks Compton said in an emailed statement. “The community will achieve a long-term goal when we are able to officially connect Centerville’s bike network to Iron Horse Trail.”

The 0.5-mile connector starts where the Iron Horse Bike Trail hits Whipp Road, a block north of Iron Horse Park. The connector goes east along Whipp and Hewitt Avenue to the intersection with Bigger Road, continuing south about 240 feet, records show. There, the path crosses Bigger at what will be a flashing-light crossing just south of the Kettering line, where it will connect to the existing path that goes over the interstate, according to Ingle.

The section of path on Hewitt will be a shared used trail and includes a rest station at Whipp, according to Kettering. Along with lighting and flashers, the Bigger crossing will include a center refuge island, signage and pavement markings.

The cities combine for about 43 miles of bike trails (Kettering 28, Centerville nearly 15) and both have routes leading to the Great Miami Bikeway.

The nearly $414,000 project, which started in August, has been slowed by material supply issues, Ingle said. Light poles, he said, are taking six to nine months to be delivered.

The work is expected to come in around budget, Ingle said. Much of the project will be paid for through federal transportation funds obtained by the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission. Kettering will pay $129,000 and Centerville $119,000, records show.

Contractor L.J. Deweese Co. Inc. of Tipp City was the lowest bidder among seven submissions for the work.