Work to fix congestion problems at the Fields Ertel Road northbound exit at Interstate 71 is in progress. About $21 million will be spent on the phased project that is expected to be completed by the end of 2015.
The northbound lane on Mason-Montgomery Road north of Fields Ertel is already operational, and 22 traffic lights have been re-sequenced to help with the traffic in the area, according to Warren County Engineer Neil Tunison.
Next up will be a 900-foot extension of the northbound exit to create more separation between people idling on the exit and cars on the freeway.
Installation of a median-like “gore” should help prevent accidents like the one a few years ago when a rear-end accident sent a car careening on I-71, where it then hit a truck.
“The truck jack knifed and it took about six hours cleaning up that mess,” Tunison said. “If we had had that gore section in there that accident wouldn’t have happened. We still would have had the rear end, but it wouldn’t have pushed the car out into the through lane.”
In December, bids will be let for an exit loop that will take drivers north of the Fields Ertel and Mason Montgomery intersection. The funds have been secured for each of the projects. The funding is a mix of federal, state, Hamilton and Warren counties and Deerfield and Symmes townships.
Meanwhile, a new interchange, with exits going on and off on both the north and south bound sides of I-71 is going to be the subject of a public information meeting on July 23. Tunison’s office is still working on different alternatives for that project. Included in the $32 million project is a realignment of Columbia Road, an extra lane on I-71 between Western Row and the Ohio 741 exit which will also be worked on.
Tunison said there was no southbound exit built at that interchange because the exit was built for Kings Island in the 1970s. The growth of commercial businesses on the opposite side the highway in Mason have made the need for a southbound exit imperative. Mason, the county and federal and state funding will create the new interchange.
“It’ll be a game changer,” said Mason City Manager Eric Hansen.
Deerfield Twp. Trustee Dan Corey, who is an engineer in Tunison’s office, said the improvements at Fields Ertel and Western Row will work in tandem to shave drive time considerably in the area.
“This is sort of an economic engine,” he said. “Fields Ertel is where the jobs are today and Western Row is where a lot of potential jobs are going. They work hand-in-hand because they are so close to each other… It’s a corridor improvement system where a lot of economic activity — both existing and new economic activity for Warren County — is going. That shows how transportation is tied together with economic development.”
Another major road project is under way in Lebanon. The Ohio 63 Connector is a new road that will run from Glosser Road and Ohio 63 at the edge of downtown, north to the intersection of Hart and Franklin roads. The city got a federal grant that is funding more than half the $5.65 million project.
City officials estimate they can divert 6,000 to 7,000 cars off of key downtown streets.
County Commissioner Dave Young said the county has to be diligent in its transportation plans to make sure people can get to places like the retail establishments in Deerfield Twp. and Mason because the county culls millions in sales taxes.
“The racino area, the outlet mall those are our money makers along with Mason-Montgomery Road in Deerfield Twp.” he said. “That brings in a lot of revenue into the county. We said years ago we don’t want that to turn into Colerain Avenue. There is a constant traffic jam where people don’t want to go there and the people with disposable income don’t want to go there because it’s too much of a hassle.”
About the Author