The project is set to start in May — after the contractor finishes another job in the area — and conclude in August, weather permitting. The road will be closed throughout construction, according to the county engineer’s office.
Liberty Twp. Trustee Christine Matacic said she was happy the project is cheaper than anticipated, “since we’re paying for it all out of our pocket.”
Butler County Engineer Greg Wilkens manages road projects in the county’s townships, but the local jurisdictions often provide their own funding when grants aren’t available.
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Trustee Board President Steve Schramm wanted to delay the project, hoping to find some outside funding, because it is such a big ticket item.
“I actually tried to put the brakes on it last year when I saw the overall (budget) impact,” Schramm said. “But at that point they just said we’re too far down the path with upfront costs from the engineer’s office, from our own due diligence so it didn’t make any sense to stall in hopes of finding a grant, only to have costs escalate over that time.”
Safety concerns were another reason the project wasn’t delayed. Cars have tipped off the curved road into a ditch because there are no berms or much of a shoulder.
“Some of the lanes are nine feet wide, which with some of today’s vehicles make it for a dicey situation,” Matacic said. “Especially if you have a truck coming by you and there’s no berms.”
Matacic said even if officials postponed the project, getting a grant was unlikely. She said since there really isn’t a high accident count, relative to all the road projects vying for grant funding.
“My big issue with transportation is you have to have the deaths and accidents before you can get extra points for funding,” she said. “So those of us that want to prevent an accident, we’re penalized because we want to be proactive?”
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