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Public input sought on North Hamilton Crossing project

An artist's rendering of a completed North Hamilton Crossing project.
www.northhamiltoncrossing.org
An artist's rendering of a completed North Hamilton Crossing project.

The City of Hamilton and the Butler County Transportation Improvement District (BCTID) say they want public input on future plans for the North Hamilton Crossing project.

The North Hamilton Crossing is a pie-shaped patchwork of interchanges that includes several major state roads and the CSX Railroad.

Allen Messer is the assistant director of engineering for the City of Hamilton. He says they want input from residents who live, work or drive around the Crossing

“Our primary east west corridor is 129, which is High Street and Main Street," he says. "It's a very heavily traveled route. There's a number of some of the higher crash intersections in the state along that route, and it's really at capacity now.”

Messer says they also want to add a railroad overpass, and replace a two lane bridge built in 1922 with a new four to five lane bridge.

No infrastructure plan is without costs, and the engineer says while some funding is already available, more will be needed as the project comes into focus.

"We've got $750,000 the city of Hamilton has devoted to the project and another $250,0000 that Butler County allocated. We just recently were awarded $2,000,000 in grant money towards the design and right-of-way of the project, of which there will be a local match equal to that, and then next spring, we'll begin seeking grant money for construction."

Messer anticipates construction would begin five years from when the funding is secured.

As of the end of September, 1,300 people had offered their input through the project’s website.

Jerry began volunteering at WYSO in 1991 and hosting Sunday night's Alpha Rhythms in 1992. He joined the YSO staff in 2007 as Morning Edition Host, then All Things Considered. He's hosted Sunday morning's WYSO Weekend since 2008 and produced several radio dramas and specials . In 2009 Jerry received the Best Feature award from Public Radio News Directors Inc., and was named the 2023 winner of the Ohio Associated Press Media Editors Best Anchor/News Host award. His current, heart-felt projects include the occasional series Bulletin Board Diaries, which focuses on local, old-school advertisers and small business owners. He has also returned as the co-host Alpha Rhythms.