The bridge was constructed in 1965 and crosses Four Mile Creek at the Oxford Twp./City of Oxford line, he said. Located next to Leonard G. Howell Park, the existing bridge is a single-span steel pony truss. The engineer’s office plans to replace the old bridge with a three-span concrete slab structure, Petrocy said. As part of the project, the roadway approaches would be realigned to ease the curves, increase sight distance, and accommodate a safer approach, he said.
A sidewalk/path along Bonham Road is also scheduled, he said. Starting on the south side of the road at the Miami University east stadium parking lot, the sidewalk will head southwest to Howell Park, crossing Bonham Road to the park, then continuing along the north side of the road crossing the new bridge to Yager Stadium Drive, he said.
The improvement will increase safety for pedestrians, he said.
In order to construct the project, 0.43-acres of permanent and 0.18-acres of temporary right-of-way will be needed from the park along the northeast side of Bonham Road.
Petrocy said the engineer’s office hasn’t finalized all the construction plans and estimates for 2016. He said they may be available in February or March, then presented to the commissioners. He said annual construction costs typically average between $12 million to $15 million, but have exceeded $20 million.
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