Work to widen busy road continues through week
Portion of Shakertown Road closed as crews install a new culvert.
A road closure in Beavercreek is allowing continued widening work on a busy east-west roadway often used by those avoiding U.S. 35 traffic snarls during rush hours.
Shakertown Road between Burntwood Drive and Grange Hall Road is expected to be closed through next week as crews work to install a new culvert and other work related to the widening project, according to Beavercreek’s City Engineer Jeff Moorman.
The $1.2 million project was started in late September. The goal is to upgrade the two-lane stretch with a center turn lane, sidewalks, curbs and drainage improvements.
The project was funded with $600,000 in local access grant money, a $250,000 assessment from the Traditions of Beavercreek developers and the city’s street levy fund.
“This is completing the piece in the middle that connects the other three-lane parts of Shakertown,” Moorman said. “Extending the sidewalks will give the children from the Autumn Springs neighborhood a path to get to Ankeney Middle School.”
Shakertown Road will be closed to through traffic between Grange Hall and Burntwood, but local businesses and residents will have access to their properties. The road-widening project is expected to be completed in May 2019, Moorman said.
The city is also in the process of purchasing land at the east end of Shakertown Road where there are plans to realign the road to intersect with Factory and North Bellbrook roads. The bidding process for the construction work will likely begin in early 2019.
“We’re hoping that we can get contractors working at the same time as ODOT’s superstreet project on U.S. 35,” Moorman said.