“The road’s in terrible shape and has been in terrible shape for probably five to seven years, and there’s nothing we can do to really fix it unless we tear it up essentially and rebuild it with proper sections of base and asphalt pavement,” he said.
The reconstruction will be a 1.2-mile stretch on Tylersville Road from Hamilton Enterprise Park Drive, where 80 Acres Farms is located, and will end about a quarter-mile from the bypass at Gateway Avenue.
Funding for the project is still being figured out, Engle said.
The city is currently attempting to acquire right-of-way and easements for the road reconstruction project, securing funding is not complete, though it will require the city borrowing to complete the project, Engle said. The work will be primarily for the anticipated growth expected along Hamilton Enterprise Park Drive, which is home to some big-name Hamilton companies, such as 80 Acres, VinylMax and Synergy Flavors. Corrugated packaging manufacturer Saica is expected to finish the construction of its facility in this area this year.
Hamilton requested this past fall for American Rescue Plan Act funds from Butler County, and it was still waiting for notification as of Monday. There is also funding available through the city’s street levy, he said.
Hamilton will request at Wednesday’s meeting funding through the Ohio Department of Transportation. ODOT provides supplemental money for selected Transportation Improvement District projects. The Butler County TID has offered to submit a $500,000 grant application to the state to assist in the project.
“Our infrastructure funding isn’t sufficient to handle that project,” said Engle of the estimated $3.2 million price tag.
“Last year, we were being considered for a very large industrial plant on the southside of Tylersville. The city of Hamilton had purchased that property last year and we were considering adding a roundabout that would connect in with Hamilton Enterprise Park Drive on the north side and Tylersville Road and the new entrance on the south side. But that didn’t materialize. We’re not doing a roundabout immediately but we still have to have some flexibility when a potential large industry goes in on that south side of Tylersville so we can have a better connectivity for everyone.
“Plus with 80 Acres expanding and building new facilities out there and Saica going into operations later this year out there, and VinylMax is going to have an expansion, we just felt it was time to get a better road constructed out there that will handle a larger size of trucks and a larger number of trucks as well.”
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