Part of this notorious Hamilton intersection is back open as work continues

The newly reconfigured Eaton Avenue is open to traffic at the intersection with Main Street in Hamilton, but Millville Avenue now will be closed to continue revamping an intersection that was once called one of Ohio’s worst.

Seldon Brown, who owns The Little Woodshop on Main, which overlooks the intersection, said he is very pleased with the progress and the reopening of Eaton.

“(On Monday), they came in, painted the lines and moved the traffic lights, cleaned the place up, and moved the cones, and it was opened by like 4, 4:30 (p.m.),” Brown said. “And you know what the funny thing is? Very few people are using it.”

“It’s a thousand percent improvement,” Brown said about the intersection that City Engineer Rich Engle said should be completed by early September.

The intersection was a high-crash area, and from 2008-2010 had 50 wrecks, ranking it among Ohio’s “Top 100 Non-Freeway Fatal and Serious Injury Locations.”

“When you come down there, Eaton feathered onto Main Street at about a 45-degree angle,” Brown said. “And if you wanted to make a left from Eaton onto Main, there was a split and an island in the middle, and the distance between the light at Eaton and the Millville light, that’s what really caused all the accidents, because you didn’t know what light to go under.”

Because the intersection with the funky angles and area around it was so crash-prone, the Ohio Department of Transportation is paying 90 percent of the funding, and Hamilton is paying the other 10 percent.

“If you were going from Millville to Eaton, you had to make a 45-degree right-hand turn, and then a 270-degree turn onto Eaton. Now, both roads will line up square, and at a 90-degree angle,” Brown said.

READ MORE: This Hamilton traffic headache has a major fix coming

When the intersection is finished, people driving from Millville Avenue will be able to turn left onto Main Street, something he said couldn’t be done before.

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The intersection will also include a the dynamic metal sculpture, about 25 feet tall, that the City of Sculpture is planning to install next year in a new green area created at the intersection to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Hamilton being named the City of Sculpture. Funding for the sculpture is being raised privately.

PROPOSED SCULPTURE: Large ‘Embrace’ sculpture planned for Main-Millville intersection

During the highway work, workers uncovered buried trolley tracks, another delight for Brown, who has a souvenir piece of the rails.

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In yet another bonus for Brown and the businesses near his shop, about eight new parking spaces will be added on their side of Main Street, he said.

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