From the 4/28/06 Springfield News-Sun:

 

 

U.S. Route 68 Bypass regains momentum

Proposal faces no opposition at public forum, which was not the case at previous meetings about it.

 

URBANA — Committees will be formed. Letters will be sent. Phone calls will be made. All in hopes of making the proposed U.S. Route 68 Bypass a reality.

 

More than 65 people attended a public forum Thursday, and no one openly opposed constructing the bypass, as was the case in past meetings. Those who spoke hoped more people would contact state elected officials and the Ohio Department of Transportation to encourage them to fund the project for 2013.

 

What’s next? County Engineer Fereidoun Shokouhi predicts the project will remain at its current listing with the Transportation Review Advisory Council in May as a Tier II preliminary development, meaning it’s under review. With more people showing support, he is confident the project will be funded.

 

Read More...

 

This afternoon I went to the ODOT hearing or briefing on the the Austin Road intechange.  The purpose was to show alternatives to both the freeway intechange and the proposed redesign of the Austin Road/Springboro Pike intersection.  The meeting was not a formal presentation, but a set of exhibits where you could talk to the engineers and consultants, write down your comments and put them in a box.  Very informal. 

 

For those not familiar, this is a proposed interchange just south of where I-675 meets I-75, between the Dayton Mall/Lexis-Nexis and Springboro, near the South Dayton general aviation airport.

 

 

The study area

 

 

The interchange configurations are now much more fleshed out...a "tight diamond" or a normal diamond (which would take more property and result in some demoltions)

 

 

 

ho hum to that...one would think they could have done something better with the off-ramps at the right turns, designing them to continuously merge..these look like they need stop signs or lights.

 

The piece d' resistance was the "continuous flow interchange".  It isnt really continuous, as there are lights, but it certainly is unusual.  They also had computer animations of ariel views of the traffic flow for two configurations of this (partial and full).  I spoke with the consultant about it a bit..he said there would be quite a bit of signage of the 'green and white" variety and of course access control, so the experience of going through this sounds to be more "interchange" than "intersection". 

 

He also said they recently built one in Baton Rouge and it was a big sucess (his words).  I forgot to ask "where" in Baton Rouge in the outside chance Magyar might know of it. 

 

In any case, they are really looking at building this one....this is the "parital" version:

 

 

So, the next step is ODOT incorporates the comments and then comes up with a recommended alternative.  Moving right along....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

From the 5/7/06 Dayton Daily News:

 

 

Expect congestion, detours on U.S. 35, starting Tuesday

By Mehul Srivastava

Staff Writer

 

DAYTON | For the 70,000 people who use U.S. 35 near Interstate 75 everyday, traffic has already begun to get a little complicated. Wait until Tuesday morning, and it will be even more so, as detours are put into place while ramps get some work done, and part of the highway gets resurfacing.

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/0507us35.html

 

Since this year marks the 50th anniversarly of the Interstate System here is a thread exploring the "prehistory" of some of the urban expressways of Dayton through the early and mid 20th century.

 

1920s and 1930s

 

The story starts in the 1920s, with a proposal to develop crosstown highways as a way of relieving congestion in downtown.

 

"The Relief Plan for Traffic Congestion in the Central Buisness District by means of a Riverside Boulevard System"

 

 

...which was sort of interesting as it connected with highways leading into town, such as Troy Pike and Springfield Street, and used the river system as a crosstown traffic alignement.

 

This system of boulevards was not limited access, but more like parkways.  Yet it was the first comprehensive plan to deal with the growth of auto traffic through the cityThe plan was under implementation by 1939, when this progress map was made...."The Proposed Marginal River Bouelevards":

 

 

It is interesting looking at the above map and seeing some familiar roads..Deweese Parkway, probably the closest Dayton had to a true parkway, proposed to connect to Shoup Mill Road.  Edwin Moses.  Riverside Drive.  And a boulevard connecting downtown to Troy Pike along the Greet Miami, which was partially built, but is nothing more than an access road to the ballfields and Deeds Point nowadays (with part of it actually abandonded).

 

Here is a cross section illustrating that the vision was to have true tree lined bouelevards.....with a median.

 

 

And the downtown portion of the system actually proposed relocation of the Miami River northward somewhat, reuslting in a park area for the boulevard to pass through as it swung by the CBD.

 

 

 

The above Marginal River Bouelevard map also shows Patterson Bouelvard, which also functioned as a crosstown route, especially when it was connected from Stewart Street past the (then new) Carillon Park to South Dixie Drive (the old Cinncinnati Pike).  This was the route of the cross-country US Route 25, the eastern leg of the old Dixie Higway.. .(hence north and south Dixie Drives)....the Dixie Beeline from the old Dave Macon song....

 

 

..before the US Highway numbered system this road used a special marker, painted on telephone poles and such.

 

 

...so as early as the 1920s a cross country auto highway was passing through Dayton.

 

Yet, even in 1939, a true limited access divided highway was not to be found in or into Dayton.  And it appears the city was planning on its riverside boulevards as its crosstown traffic system as I did not see any evidence of an expressway system being proposed. 

 

Dayton also missed the WPA era construction of four lane divided highways that where sometimes built on the periphery of cities like Louisville and Chicago.  That was to change with the coming of WWII and the massive expansion of defense industry in Dayton.

 

World War II Era

 

The first quasi-limited access divided highways with four lanes and a median where built in response to the war effort. 

These would have been Daytonians first experience, locally, with fairly high-speed highways purpose built for auto traffic.  They where not true limited access as major intersections where at grade, though there was access control.

 

The most intact example of this preliminary form of an expressway was the OH Route 4 connection between the Army Air Corps Patterson Field depot mainteance/logistics activity at Fairfield/Osborne with Wright Field and Dayton (via Springfield Street).  This highway was designed with a generous median and, since it passed through a military reservation, had de-facto access control due the installation perimeter bounding it on both sides. 

 

 

The highway remains mostly intact today....

 

 

 

 

The second quasi-limited access highway was a relocation of a portion of US 25 to avoid the early suburban development on the narrow North Dixie Drive.

 

US 25 was relocated to a divided highway, running from US 40 (a major cross-country highway) to a traffic circle at Wagoner Ford Road and North Dixie.  This highway connected a defense plant and airfield at Vandalia to Dayton.  The best I can tell is that there was at-grade intersections, but some limited access control via frontage roads.  Unfortunatly I couldn't find good documenation of this highway...aside from old maps and grainy aerial photos.

 

 

 

This traffic circle existed into modern times, even after this stretch of US 25 was incorporated into I-75 and made true limited access.  A remanant exists today....

 

 

This stretch. 1940s-era US 25 was pretty radically altered over the years by grade seperation interchanges and widening projects related to I-75, though the alingment is the same.

 

Although I don't have the documentation I think a safe assumption could be made that US 25 south of town was also improved by the transforming the old Dayton and Suburban Railroad (formerly the C&LE interurban) ROW in Southern Hills into a northbound lane for US25

 

1944

 

Also in the 1940s the very first study for a limited access highway through Dayton was made, by the predecessor to ODOT.

 

The copy at the library did not xerox well, but it was a study of various alingments of a true limited acess expressway with medians and interchanges, running from the Traffic Circle to Stewart Street, where it connected with Patterson Boulevard.

 

The study considered routing this expressway along the alignment of Patterson Boulevard, east of downtown, but rejected this due to too much industrial and buisness relocation being necessar. Of course now there is not much industry at all along Patterson Blvd downtown!

 

Here is a xerox of an old van dyke print showing the proposed relocation through the center of the city (this is a 'dot map' showing population density).  Apparently the vision here was still to efficiently conduct through traffic through the city, connecting to divided highway and quasi-limited access roads north and south.  Yet, the study mentions that this was done with an interregional system in mind, referencing 1941 and 1944 federal highway legislation (predecessors of the interstate system?)...and the study did contain some fascinating statewide flow diagrams, showing that the traffic planners where thinking of this as part of a future long-distance system.

 

(as this map isn't too good I drew the alignment in red)

 

 

After the war planning began to accelerate.  In this map the city of Dayton proposes an inner city connector or feeder leading to the proposed expressway...this is perhaps the forrunner of the widened Keowee Street.  Also, a bridge across the river at Salem Avenue, and extention of Riverside Drive across the river.  Interchanges shown in red...

 

 

1948

 

The 1944 plan was elaborated four years later in a 1948 study by ODOT to further refine the freeway plan.  Also, an alternative surfaced that would have changed the alingment to the west of the river.  ODOT pretty much followed the path of least resistance along the alignment of one of the proposed riverside boulevards, but the new alternative (developed by consultant Harlan Bartholomew, who was under contract at the time to develope a compreshensive plan for Dayton) would have connected with US 25 in "Moraine City", and passed through Edgemont and quite a bit of the western and northern parts of downtown.

 

As part of the planning reports a number of traffic studies were presented, based on work done by the city of Dayton. Particularly interesting are these desire line diagrams showing the directin of traffic between "zones" in the city and surroundings.

 

 

 

and through traffic diagrams, which pretty much indicate the need for some high-volume highways to conduct traffic through the city.  The alignements of todays I-75, US-35, and OH-4 are suggested here....

 

 

The two alternative routings through Dayton (north is to the right on these maps)

 

 

 

And a band diagram showing future traffic flows on the two alternatives.

 

 

ODOTs preferred alternative was the riverside alignement, and a number of aeriel photomontages where prepared showing how this expressway would pass through the city.

 

 

The Stewart Street interchange & connection to Patterson Blvd.  Recall that at this time nearby NCR was a major traffic generator as it had 10,000 employees on-site

 

 

Washington Street interchange.  Note the dense residential area across the river.  This  neighborhwood would eventually be obliterated by the US35-I75 interchange and St Elizabeth Hospital expansion as well as deterioration and abandonment.

 

 

The US 25 Expressway passing through downtown, leaving a little residential "island" next to the river.  Note the below-grade proposal.  According to the text preliminary hydrological studies indicated this would be possible without pumping of groundwater. 

 

 

1948-1949

 

As part of the ongoing highway planning ODOT started to look at other highway needs.  Here is a proposed crosstown highway to conduct US 35 across the city:

 

Starting out with through traffic flows

 

 

Volume of traffic on city streets:

 

 

And the desire-line diagrams, showing a some strong east-west travel preferences:

 

 

 

ODOT generated three alternatives, which they overlayed on maps showing employment concentrations (of the late 1940s) and a population dot map.

 

 

 

The preferred alternatve was then developed.  In this early scheme the US 35 Expressway was not that, more of a quasi-expressway with some access control, at grade intersections at minor street, and grade seperation at major iintersections More of a wide four-lane inner city highway rather than a true expressway.  An interesting aspect of this map is that it shows all the buisness/commercial locations on Third out in the neighborhoods, so perhaps this highway was seen as an alternative, quicker way to get to points on Third; a crosstown highway for city people wanting to get from the east to the west sides. 

 

 

The ODOT planners did know that a US 25 expressway was being proposed, an "H Interchange" for the US 25- US 35 intersection.  Not a particularly well though-out plan at this point, as the concept here was to justify a crosstown highway and an alignment, no detailed design yet.

 

 

Finally the US 35 Expressway (preferred alternative) is shown on the city thoroughfare plan.  The plan also shows an OH 4 highway, but I have not been able to find any information on early planning for OH 4 from the 1940s. 

 

 

1953: Pulling it All Togther

 

In the early 1950s Dayton apparently hired a consulting firm out of NYC, Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendorff, to develope an arterial highway plan for the city.  The consultants pulled together the various ODOT studies and studies conducted by the plan board and their consultant, Harlan Bartholomew, and generated an arterial highway plan with recommended alignments.  This plan was pretty much what was built (with some changes in alignement and design). 

 

The plan, and as this is a weak xerox, the plan showing the arterials in red

 

 

 

As in the other plans the studies looked at existing traffic volumes, like this one showing traffic in Dayton and suburbs.  Still quite a bit of traffic heading into town back then, but also quite a bit of reverse commuting out to the giant Frigidaire plant in Moraine and to the Air Force Base.  I assume the source is late 40s/very early 50s data, at the very beginnings of the big suburban boom

 

 

Traffic to the CBD

 

 

And this very ineresting map of major (100 and over) industrial employers (including the Air Force Base)

 

 

And a close up of the inner city showing the big industrial employment centers in West Dayton, Edgemont, NCR, and Webster Station.  At that time many of these places where unionized, mostly paying good wages.  Almost all of this is gone today:

 

 

Traffic to the Air Force Base (to justify OH 4).  Back then Wright-Patterson had a large urban workforce, with Five Oaks/Grafton Hill/Salem Avenue apparently a particularly popular residential location.

 

 

The consultants again addressed the southern extension of the US 25 expressway as a special issue in regards to preferred alignemnet, concurring with Harlan Bartholomews "west of the river" alignment.  The consultants proposed two notional expressways. One followed the ODOT preferred riverside alignment, but extnded this alignement, replacing and paralling South Dixie Drive through Southern Hills.  The other (consultant preferred) alignment passed through open country south of the city, but cut through the Edgemont neighborhood. 

 

Traffic bands..two funnel clouds of traffic extending south of the city:

 

 

 

And an aerial perspective showing the competing alignments

 

 

A blowup showing the Moraine City area.  Note that the consultants had stubbed off the expressway closer to Springboro Pike.

 

 

crossing the river into Edgemont, near the present site of Welcome Stadium/UD Arena.

 

 

...and then the alignement chopping up Edgemont.  Note that in this illustration the US 35 expressway was really an improved Washington Street.

 

 

The consultants did a series of alignment photomontages, showing how the US 25 Expressway would wind its way through the city.  Here are a few.

 

Starting from the south working north....

 

Moraine City.  The concept here was that the expressway would eventually extend south, but closer to Springboro Pike than it is now.  That bizarre interchange into West Carollton must have come later in the 1950s.

 

The present-day alignment of I-75 is also closer to the river than in this scheme.

 

 

Passing through downtown and vicinity.

 

 

A closeup of the alignment downtown.  Note that once again this is a depressed highway, like Fort Washington Way in Cincinnati or the Dan Ryan just outside of the Loop in Chicago.  Also note that it was fitted in closer to downtown, preserving more the neighborhood to the west, along the river, and on a more right-angles alignment with downtown streets, not the sort of diagonal/curve that was built

 

 

In some ways this alignment is similar to that shown in Harlan Bartholomews downtown plan of around the same time:

 

 

US 25 Expressway connecting to the WWII-era US 25 divided highway in the vicinity of the traffic circle.  The remnants of the never-completed river boulevard along the Great Miami is also somewhat visible.

 

 

 

US 35.  From west to east.

 

Connecting to West 3rd in the vicinity of Residence Park and the VA.  The modern US 35 expressway swings south of the VA and connects with US 35 in Drexel, but extends north to Salem Road.  Also note the old minor league baseball diamond.  This is perhaps where the Dayton Ducks played.  There where two ballfields in West Dayton, this one and one run by the Dayton Gym Club near Wolf Creek @ Wolf Creek Pike.  The Gym Club diamond was where the Dayton Marcos played...one of the teams of the 1920s Negro Leagues.

 

 

Cutting through West Dayton, interchange with US 25. 

 

 

Remarkable photo of the dense urban fabric of West Dayton, showing the interchange and the US 35 alignment right on top of Washington Street (it was built just to the south, and existing interchange is considerably more elaborate)

 

 

East Dayton at the edge of town.  The highway dies off into Xenia Road. The four lane US 35 into Xenia apparenlty lay in the future.

 

 

....finally, the consultants vision of the future for Dayton motorists via a cross section diagram:

 

 

Three years later, 1956, the interstate highway system went under construction. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wonderful, as always.

 

Amazing how residential downtown was before...well...you know...

 

I'll just throw a bunch of outside influences in at once.

Dixie Hwy - History by Mike Buettner (President of the Ohio Lincoln Hwy Association)

http://www.lincolnhighwayoh.com/Dixie.html

 

There was a Defense Highway Act in 1941

There was a Federal-aid Highway Act in 1944 (forerunner to the 1956 interstate act)

There was a Federal-aid Highway Act in 1954

 

The 1941 act may well have led to the funding for the highway(s) around Wright-Patt and possibly US 25.

The 1944 act led to the interregional plans (seehttp://www.roadfan.com/intreg.html) and Ohio highlighted their needs in 1946

(from Invertory of Needed Improvements on the State Highway System, located at the state library)

 

Howard, Needles, Tammen & Bergendorff were quite popular.  They did highway plans for Columbus, Cleveland, and Toledo, besides Dayton in the 1950s (collection of all is sitting at the Science & Engineering Library at OSU)

 

And Harlan Bartholomew made a visit to Columbus in 1954 as well (to reiterate what Bergendorff had proposed two years earlier)

 

 

 

  Fascinating. Thanks for all the hard work.

 

 

Very interesting.  Thanks for the research!

 

As a map guy, I'm fascinated by those through traffic diagrams.

From the City of Dayton....

 

Renovated Findlay Street Bridge Opens

Officials from the City of Dayton and the Ohio Department of Transportation recently came together to celebrate the opening of the new Findlay Street Bridge. The original Findlay Street Bridge over the Mad River was built in 1926. Over time the bridge had deteriorated and needed weight restrictions.

 

The old structure was officially closed in January of 2005 and completely demolished, making way for the new updated construction. The new bridge is four lanes wide and features 10-foot wide sidewalks and ornamental lighting. The project also included reconstruction of Findlay Street from Monument Avenue to the Findlay Street Bridge, and Stanley Avenue from the Findlay Street Bridge to the entrance ramp of northbound State Route 4. In addition, there is new pavement, curbs, sidewalks, lighting, and storm sewers. The new bridge was designed by Woolpert and built by Ahern & Associates. The $4.8 million project was funded by the Ohio Department of Transportations City Bridge Program, the Ohio Public Works Commissions Issue II Program and the City of Dayton.

From the 8/16/06 DDN:

 

 

U.S. 35 update says road's traffic on way to improvement

By Sean Strader

Staff Writer

 

DAYTON — The good news: The construction on U.S. 35 is on schedule, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. The bad news: The schedule ends in spring 2008.

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/localnews/daily/081606us35.html

 

From the 9/14/06 Urbana Daily Citizen:

 

 

Local mayors rally support for bypass

SHAUN DUNLAP

Staff Writer

 

Candidates for election met at a Champaign County Mayors Association meeting Wednesday to discuss issues, with an emphasis on the proposed U.S. Route 68 bypass.

 

Twenty-one letters of invitation were sent to candidates. Four candidates were in attendance or sent representatives. Urbana Mayor Ruth Zerkle said others responded but could not make it to the meeting. She said all expressed a desire to back the bypass.

 

Republican John Adams, hoping to become the next representative of Ohio's 78th District, said he would endorse the 68 bypass.

 

"I see opportunity (in it)," said Adams. "It can create jobs."

 

Read More...

 

From the 10/6/06 Springfield News-Sun:

 

 

Champaign County wants land for 68 bypass

By LaToya Thompson

Friday, October 06, 2006

 

URBANA — Champaign County officials want the state to transfer land to the county because it could be used as a future extension of the proposed Urbana 68 bypass.

 

The Ohio Department of Transportation owns 182 acres of farm land north of state Route 296 that it planned to auction in November.

 

The current proposal would travel north from Dallas Road and connect at the state Route 296/U.S. Route 68 intersection.

 

Read More...

---

From the 10/6/06 Urbana Daily Citizen:

 

 

Local votes for sale?

Route 68 bypass supporter promotes Web site

 

Champaign County Citizens for a Fair Shake has made the U.S. Route 68 bypass a priority and the organization's mission is to gain support from citizens and Ohio's future elected leaders, according to organizers.

 

John Ridder is a member of the group and the founder of the Web site www.champaigncounty4sale.com, which is collecting "votes" for the bypass and forwarding them to politicians.

 

Ridder said CCCFS was started a few years ago to raise community awareness about the bypass.

 

Read More...

 

From the 10/26/06 DDN:

 

 

U.S. 35 reconstruction 42% done

Steve Whalen bridge replacement under way in $52M project

By Steve Bennish

Staff Writer

Thursday, October 26, 2006

 

DAYTON — A big piece of the $52 million U.S. 35 reconstruction project is under way with the demolition of the Steve Whalen Boulevard fly-over bridge, the Ohio Department of Transportation said Wednesday.

 

Demolition of the bridge that arches above the interchange will continue through winter, said Joyce Renner of ODOT. A ramp from Steve Whalen Boulevard north to U.S. 35 west is already in place to handle that traffic, she said.

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/10/25/ddn102606us35.html

 

Just a new pic I found on ODOT of what "malfunction junction" should look like when completed. Not very big or detailed, but nice angle.

 

Hey Jeff, I just now seen this thread and I have to say wow! Very nice info indeed! I was wondering if you have anything on the history of Steve Whalen Blvd. and what it was supposed to be (if anything)? I figured it would be closley related to when US-35 was built, but I don't see anything about it up above.

U.S. 35 traffic lanes to switch Friday as upgrade continues

Dayton Daily News

Saturday, December 02, 2006

 

 

DAYTON — Friday is the state's target date for restoring U.S. 35 traffic to the

westbound lane, following reconstruction.

 

The change will be made between Interstate 75 and Smithville Road, according

to the Ohio Department of Transportation.

 

ODOT said a crossover will occur east of the U.S. 35 bridge over Keowee Street.

 

Westbound traffic will move from the old eastbound lanes to the rebuilt westbound

side. Eastbound traffic on U.S. 35 will still be detoured to Stewart Street.

 

 

 

from the Dayton Daily News

 

Tears flow on North Main as businesses close for I-75 upgrade

By Anthony Gottschlich

Staff Writer

Saturday, December 23, 2006

 

DAYTON — So long Stacie Burger, fried chicken day and Vegas Breakfast. Same to you Bob Bowman, master hairstylist and teller of bad jokes.

 

The tributes, tears and memories flowed like gravy Friday and all week long as customers and well-wishers crowded the Chili King restaurant and Bowman's Hair Design to bid farewell.

 

The two neighboring businesses at 614-616 N. Main St. close today after nearly 37 years to make way for a new entrance ramp to Interstate 75 North, part of a $569 million state project to improve traffic flow along I-75 through downtown.

 

"It's part of my life that's closing," said Bowman, 63, who will continue his career at Changes Hair Studio in West Carrollton. "I think of all the people who have been here who are no longer alive, the people who moved away and still send me Christmas cards."

 

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/12/22/ddn122306odot.html

 

I'm not sure how long this has been up, but I don't remember seeing it a couple weeks ago. But ODOT has posted a series of generic rendierings in PDF format for this project. Looks like their will be extensive use of sound barriers. I hope this doesn't block the views of downtown too bad.

 

http://www.dot.state.oh.us/dist7/Jobs_Progress/projects/phase1A.htm

Does anyone know what the big plan for phase 1b, the 35/75 interchange is going to be? I can't seem to find any preliminary sketches or renderings concerning this. Is it set for a full redesign with new flyovers or are they just running extra lanes through?

 

I was just wondering as they have cleared an enormous lot of land on the northeastern corner of the interchange and with the scheduled demolition of the former Reynolds & Reynolds building, it seems as though they are making some room for something.

I was just wondering as they have cleared an enormous lot of land on the northeastern corner of the interchange and with the scheduled demolition of the former Reynolds & Reynolds building, it seems as though they are making some room for something.

 

Isn't it for the new high school to replace the existing Career Academy?  The Ponitz Career Technology Center or something like that.

 

 

 

 

From the 3/15/07 DDN:

 

 

RENDERING: An artist's rendering shows the new Paul Laurence Dunbar Street Bridge over Wolf Creek.  Contributed photo

 

Bridge replacement speeding up

With federal, state and county funds coming in,, the 25-year plan has been consolidated into 10.

By Joanne Huist Smith

Staff Writer

Thursday, March 15, 2007

 

DAYTON — Dayton plans to speed up its $51 million bridge replacement program with federal, state and county funds flowing into the city for those projects.

 

"We've been able to leverage funds pretty well," said Steve Finke, the city's assistant director of public works in a report to the Dayton City Commission Wednesday.

 

Washington Street Bridge: Cost: $7.3 million, under construction, to be completed Dec. 2007.

Paul Laurence Dunbar Street Bridge: Cost: $2.5 million, construction begins July 1, completed Dec. 2008.

Dayton Expressway Bridge: Cost: $6.7 million, construction begins July 1, completed Dec. 2008

Stewart Street Bridge: Bid April 2008, estimated cost: $15 million, construction begins June 2008.

Edwin C. Moses Boulevard Bridge: Bid January 2008, estimated cost $3.5 million, construction begins April 2008.

Rosedale Drive Bridge: Bid: Sept. 2008, estimated cost: $3 million, construction begins early 2009.

Bridge Street Bridge: Bid: July 2008, estimated cost: $3.2 million, construction begins October 2008.

Findlay Street Bridge: New bridge dedicated May 2006. The 300-foot-span cost about $4.6 million.

 

Source: Dayton Department of Public Works

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/localnews/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/14/ddn031507bridges.html

 

Both from the 3/17/07 DDN:

 

 

MAP: Washington St and Stewart St bridges

SLIDESHOW: Washington Street Bridge

 

New bridge is 'going to be beautiful'

Dayton paying attention to history as it replaces eight spans.

By James Cummings

Staff Writer

Saturday, March 17, 2007

 

DAYTON — You can almost imagine Steve Finke as a 5-year-old pushing a Tonka truck through mud puddles or dumping little buckets of wet sand to build a barrier to hold back the surf.

 

Today, as Dayton's assistant director of public works, Finke, whose father and grandfather were both engineers, oversees the same kind of work but on a much grander scale. The city is in the midst of a five-year program to replace eight of its aging bridges, and Finke is in heaven.

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/03/16/ddn031707bridgeinside.html

 

From the 6/1/07 DDN:

 

 

MAP

 

Paul Laurence Dunbar Street bridge to be razed, replaced

Traffic on the thoroughfare will be rerouted starting Monday until September 2008.

By James Cummings

Staff Writer

Friday, June 01, 2007

 

DAYTON — The Paul Laurence Dunbar Street bridge across Wolf Creek west of downtown will be closed to traffic beginning Monday, and it will remain closed for about 15 months for demolition and replacement.

 

The bridge was built in 1925 and rehabilitated in 1951, according to a news release from City Engineer Kerry Lawson.

 

The bridge has deteriorated since its last renovation. "The replacement is going to be a lot more attractive," Lawson said.

 

The new bridge will feature 10-foot-wide sidewalks, ornamental lighting and landscaped pedestrian plazas at each end of the bridge.

 

While the two-lane Paul Laurence Dunbar Street bridge is out of service, traffic will be detoured to the nearby Broadway Street bridge.

 

The Eagle Bridge Company is to be paid $2.1 million for the project, and it is to be completed in September of next year.

 

The bridge replacement is part of a 10-year campaign to replace eight city bridges using $51 million of federal, state, county and city funds.

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/06/01/ddn060107bridge.html

 

From the 7/11/07 Urbana Daily Citizen:

 

 

Shokouhi: 68 bypass 'still at a standstill'

BREANNE PARCELS

Staff Writer

 

The future of the U.S. Route 68 proposed bypass is unclear, but Champaign County Engineer Fereidoun Shokouhi proposed a new strategy during the quarterly joint city-county meeting on Tuesday.

 

"I hope to get our U.S. representative to champion our cause," he said. "We have done what we can do at the local level and at this point we're preaching to the choir."

 

Shokouhi said the community needs to hold U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Urbana) and other elected officials accountable for their campaign promises because the state government has not been helpful.

 

Read More...

 

Washington Street Bridge Reopens Following Reconstruction

 

POSTED: 1:49 pm EST December 6, 2007

 

DAYTON, Ohio -- One of the city’s biggest bridge reconstruction projects has been completed. On Thursday, Dayton city officials gathered to dedicate the Washington Street Bridge.

 

Officials said the bridge connects the south part of downtown Dayton to west Dayton and Edwin C. Moses Boulevard. The bridge cost $7.2 million to construct.

 

Engineers said the bridge features three lanes of traffic, 10-foot wide side walks and lighting that will highlight the concrete arches and railing.

 

Officials said the new bridge will carry approximately 10,000 vehicles a day, and is about 630 feet long.

 

The old bridge which was demolished about a year and half ago was 100 years old. Officials said the old bridge was the last of Dayton’s three pioneer concrete bridges in the city.

 

http://www.whiotv.com/news/14791330/detail.html

A day old, but...

 

 

Some relief coming for drivers on Route 35

 

By Lawrence Budd

Staff Writer

 

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

 

DAYTON — On Thursday, drivers on U.S. 35 will find an additional eastbound lane from Interstate 75 to Smithville Road.

 

The Jefferson Street ramp to eastbound 35 will also be open.

 

Gone will be the eastbound detour under I-75 to Stewart Street, once work scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. is completed, Ohio Department of Transportation spokeswoman Barbara Elliston said.

 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2007/12/12/ddn12120735web.html

As the article stated, the eastbound section opened up almost right on time. I happened to be coming from Greenville, so I decided to check it out (even knowing is was gonna be smack in the middle of rush hour) for the first time without any construction in the way.

 

I have to say, I really like the reconfiguration. I drove through right at 5:30 which is close to peak congestion on eastbound 35 especially right around the Steve Whalen exit. I was very surprised! Only a few break lights and traffic moved right along at 55-60 all the way up to Smithville Rd.

 

Even though there is still a full lane shift to the left, it is a much earlier transition and much smoother. The new wall gives it a very different feel and the new center wall mounted lights are so much better than the old side mounted ones.

 

Complaints: I still think the left side ramps should have been removed removed, but I also don't see it being such a big problem now.

 

However more work is needed on detectors designed to prevent back-ups onto 35, before ODOT re-opens the eastbound ramp to Keowee Street, Elliston said.

I'm also not sure of this statement from the above article. Is this to be a part of the upcoming ITS system around Dayton?

Intersection removal inching forward

The five U.S. 35 intersections will be replaced by two overpasses near Trebein and Factory roads.

 

By Christopher Magan

Staff Writer

Thursday, January 17, 2008

 

BEAVERCREEK — Plans to eliminate the last five intersections along U.S. 35 are crawling forward to make the highway a nonstop shot from Dayton to West Virginia.

 

Removing full intersections at Orchard Lane, Factory and Trebein roads, plus partial intersections at Shakertown and Alpha roads will cost $90 million and take nearly a decade to complete, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.

There is a construction cam now up for anyone that wants to follow the malfunction junction reconstuction. Courtesy of WDTN.

 

http://trafficcam.wdtn.com/natcity.jpg?1202218467064

Here's a map of the preferred plan.... Click on the image for a pdf that shows more detail...

 

(Also, was there another thread for this topic that I missed? I'm pretty sure there has been discussion about this since June of 2005)

 

What I like is the inclusion of bike lanes. I just wish there were lanes on all streets. The new Riverscape development going up this summer is to include a bike hub with showers and lockers. Sounds like they want to attract the biker crowd big time, but more needs to be done.

The new Riverscape development going up this summer is to include a bike hub with showers and lockers.

 

That is fantastic to hear.

What I like is the inclusion of bike lanes. I just wish there were lanes on all streets. The new Riverscape development going up this summer is to include a bike hub with showers and lockers. Sounds like they want to attract the biker crowd big time, but more needs to be done.

 

What new Riverscape development is that?? I guess I missed this one! lol

Check out http://www.downtowndayton.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=45 at the Downtown Dayton Partnership website.

Ahh, I see. The Theater Guild I have been wondering about. They've had a sign there for about 3 years now.

What new Riverscape development is that?? I guess I missed this one! lol

 

It's been briefly mentioned in a couple of threads on here, but no real details....

 

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2586.msg24772.html#msg24772

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,2586.msg24330.html#msg24330

http://www.urbanohio.com/forum2/index.php/topic,3184.0.html

 

I noticed several message boards around town.  This is due to an ITS(intelligent transportation system). I thought Dayton was a couple of years away from having it installed. It was nice to see travel times to downtown Dayton. Anyone know what the name of the ITS is called in Dayton? In Cincinnati it's called Artimis.

In Dayton its called "Whats them thar big electronic signs, maw?"

 

 

Notice the subtle name change to the less common "boulevard" and the use of an even more efficient car-worshipping form of transportation design.

 

Austin Boulevard will feature unique intersection design

http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/dayton-news/austin-boulevard-will-feature-unique-intersection-design-87317.html

 

On Austin Boulevard, construction will begin soon of a radically different intersection design that will be the first of its kind in Ohio, and one of the first in the country, according to local transportation planning officials.

 

The four-way continuous flow intersection at the junction of Ohio 741 and Austin Boulevard (formerly Austin Pike and Miamisburg-Springboro Pike) is being made possible by $6 million in federal stimulus money, the biggest single stimulus expenditure for transportation projects in the Miami Valley.

Can anyone tell me why Main Street is all torn up and is being rebuilt? Starting at First Street and going down to I guess about Sixth St.  they are doing construction/reconstruction (?) work on Main St.  You can't even drive on it in some parts now.

Would like to know what the deal is and estimated completion date if anyone knows.

Thanks

 

I am attaching a picture that shows some of it.

 

 

"This project consists of the reconstruction of Main Street, including the replacement of brick crosswalks, between Monument and Sixth Street. Construction began on May 18, 2009, and is slated for completion in December, 2009."

 

http://www.downtowndayton.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=171

 

 

Thank you. :)

I was in Dayton the past 3 days and I too was wondering what exactly they were doing.  Thanks Ink

Back in 1989, I was working at Wolpert in Dayton and we designed the streetscape that is there now, with the island in the middle with the Private Fair statue at the Biltmore and the island by DHP with the "flying" sculpture in it. As a part of that we put in all new pavement. Pavement typically lasts around 20 years, so it is time for it to be completely replaced.

That island for the Privae Fair monument is one of the best bits of urban design in the region.  It's small, but very well thought out. Kudos to whoever the architect and landscape architect were.

 

 

I remember when The Soldier's Monument (Private Fair) was located on Sunrise Dr. (Edwin C. Moses Blvd).

I don't remember when he was moved though.

I think it was in the early 90's.

Back in 1989, I was working at Wolpert in Dayton and we designed the streetscape that is there now, with the island in the middle with the Private Fair statue at the Biltmore and the island by DHP with the "flying" sculpture in it. As a part of that we put in all new pavement. Pavement typically lasts around 20 years, so it is time for it to be completely replaced.

 

Yes, it was in 1990 as a part of the streetscape project I mentioned above.

 

Forgive me for bringing up old news, but I haven't really kept up with this.

 

In the effort to make US-35 "a nonstop shot from Dayton to West Virginia," a new segment has been added bypassing the Prime Outlet Jeffersonville.  What seems unusual to me is that the new segment also bypasses the intersection with I-71.  So if you are traveling on the "Highway 35" and want to get to I-71, you must first exit onto the "Old 35" (apparently now called 435) and then get onto 71.  Is there a plan to create an interchange with the new US-35 and I-71?

 

Google map: http://bit.ly/dqwdw