BEAVERCREEK, Ohio (WDTN) – Beavercreek city leaders say a new design concept could help make a busy stretch of road safer.
They’re proposing a $12.5 million project to build a “super street”.
The project would target the section of US-35 between Factory Road and Orchard.
“Everybody has a consensus that something needs to be done to help out that piece of US-35,” Beavercreek City Engineer Jeff Moorman said.
City planners say the Ohio Department of Transportation has had success with the “super street” concept, building one in Butler County.
The design concept restricts traffic on secondary roads from making left-hand turns to enter the main highway. Designers claim it allows drivers to get through intersections quicker, while improving traffic flow.
“I think there’s a lot of motivation locally to improve safety along US-35,” Moorman said. “It’s a major source of congestion and accidents and I think anything we can do collectively as a group to make things better, we’re all for that. “
The State of Ohio already pledged $5 million to the project in July, with ODOT’s Transportation Review Advisory Council potentially kicking in $5 million more next year.
“The Ohio Department of Transportation developed the super street concept and they’ve been quite active in pursuing the funding needed to make it actually happen,” Moorman said.
If ODOT pledges the $5 million, it would leave Beavercreek to figure out how to pay for the rest of the project.
Beavercreek council member Brian Jarvis says Greene County currently has a budget surplus of nearly $27 million, thanks to revenue generated from shopping at The Greene. Jarvis says some people want the county to pay for the majority of the difference to make the project happen.