KETTERING NEARING END OF BRIDGE-BUILDING PROJECTS
Five spans either get repaired or replaced in construction bonanza.
Kettering is on the KETTERING — verge of completing five major transportation infrastructure projects involving a multimillion-dollar investment.
City officials say construction is expected to be complete in November on the Woodman Drive bridge project. The Montgomery County Engineer’s Office is reconstructing the deteriorating bridge on Woodman Drive over the Little Beaver Creek, between Wilmington Pike and East Stroop Road. The bridge was built in 1975.
Montgomery County Engineer Paul Gruner said the project will come in under the originally projected cost of $700,000 and will not have a weight limit after construction is complete. He said existing box beams are deteriorating and will be replaced.
The city of Kettering and the engineer’s office also partnered to replace the deteriorating bridge on East Stroop Road over the Little Beaver Creek, between Robertann Drive and Pobst Drive. Construction began in September of 2017, a year after project conception, and the road was reopened in early January. Final completion of the project was in the spring.
The Ghent Avenue bridge over the South Branch of the Little Beaver Creek was also replaced in a $300,000 project. The project included the removal and replacement of the existing concrete curb, walk and the asphalt road 50 feet before and after the bridge.
Two other projects will be finished in 2019.
ODOT will pay up to $2 million in construction costs to replace the Ridgeway Road Bridge for all modes of traffic, including vehicles, bicycles and pedestrians. The total estimated cost to replace the bridge, including engineering design and right-of-way
costs, is $2,600,000.
Construction on the new bridge will begin in late 2020 or early 2021, when ODOT funding will become available.
The city’s last project is a $350,000 bridge replacement that includes a public art installation and retaining wall work as part of reconstruction of the Schantz Avenue bridge.
Work is expected to begin in 2019.
Assistant City Manager Steve Bergstresser said that the Kettering CitySites Public Art Committee solicited and reviewed proposals from artists for an installation that will coincide with the reconstruction of the bridge.
“The stated goals were to make the public art installation a signature piece for the Kettering community, visible day and night, properly scaled to surroundings and appealing to the mass audience that will enjoy the art as they travel along the surrounding corridors,” Bergstresser said. Contact this reporter at 937225-0586 or email Wayne. Baker@coxinc.com.