Greene County asked to kick in more cash for U.S. Route 35 ‘superstreet’


WHAT: Beavercreek city council, township trustee joint meeting

WHEN: 5 p.m., Aug. 29, 2016

WHERE: Beavercreek City Hall, 1368 Research Park Drive, Beavercreek

CONTACT: The city of Beavercreek 937-426-5100

Beavercreek City Council and Beavercreek Twp. want Greene County to look at paying a bigger share of the local funding for the $15.8 million U.S. Route 35 superstreet project.

Local governments would need to come up with about $1.5 million, according to city documents.

“Beavercreek is the money horse that provides money for the county as far as sales tax,” Beavercreek City Councilwoman Debborah Wallace said during a joint city and township meeting Monday night.

The county has suggested the required local funding could be evenly divided between the city, township and county, according to city documents. The county would be willing to pay the local share upfront, but local jurisdictions would have to reimburse the county their shares.

“This road is in Greene County,” Wallace said. “It’s in the township and the city. I think Greene County needs to start looking at the roads and seeing how they can help us out.”

In July, the Ohio Department of Transportation confirmed $5 million had been awarded to the project sponsor, the Greene County Board of Commissioners. The same month, ODOT District 8 had filed an application with the Transportation Review Advisory Council to request another $5 million.

This Ohio Department of Transportation Highway Safety Improvement Program money will cover more than half the estimated $15.8 million needed for the project.

The superstreet project would be a temporary fix for traffic congestion and crashes on Route 35.

Superstreets restrict traffic on secondary roads from making a left turn to access the main highway. Drivers have to make a right turn, then a U-turn. According to transportation experts, superstreets reduce the amount of time it takes to get through intersections and side streets and speeds up traffic.

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