Roundabout work begins near school at busy intersection

Classes set to resume today at elementary in Clearcreek Twp.

Local officials are hoping that all of the pre-planning for the new roundabout in Clearcreek Twp. will pay off when classes resume today at Five Points Elementary School.

The Warren County Engineer’s Office began work Monday on building a new $1.73 million roundabout at the intersection of LytleFive Points and Bunnell Hill roads. The intersection will be closed the next 20 weeks, weather permitting. However, classes resume today and there will be an increase in traffic on roads as school buses and parents transporting students to and from school.

Clearcreek Twp. Administrator Matt Clark said residents and the emergency communication centers have been notified of the closure and the detours. Clark said once the roundabout is completed, it will allow more traffic volume through the intersection more safely.

The detour will utilize Ohio 48 to Ohio 73 to Ohio 741 for the Lytle-Five Points Road closure and Ohio 73 to Ohio 48 to Social Row Road in Montgomery County for the Bunnell Hill Road closure, according to the Warren County Engineer’s Office. The project is being constructed by Double Jay Construction Inc. of Englewood.

During the closure, Red LionFive Points Road will not be closed at Bunnell Hill Road, according to officials. Clark said roundabouts are safer for motorists than installing a traffic control signal and has been known to decrease injury crashes by 75%. The county Engineer’s Office said after the roundabout is completed, construction will begin on the realignment of the intersection of Red Lion-Five Points and Bunnell Hill roads.

Scott Marshall, Springboro Schools spokesman, said the district has been working with Clearcreek Twp. and county officials to prepare for the road improvement project but does not think there

will be any “giant delays” or “major impact in general.” Five Points Elementary has a total enrollment of 1,028 students in grades 2-5.

“We’ll have bus routes moved or shifted and some routes may take longer than others,” he said. “A large number of our routes will have to make detours, as a result of the construction.”

Marshall said the district’s Transportation Department has worked to reduce the impact this may cause, as best as possible.

“Only a few families will be affected by the fact that their usual pick-up/drop-off location will not be reachable, as a result of the construction, he said. “Those families were contacted by our Transportation Department about bringing their student to a different location, which would impact those few families’ pick up/drop off times. Again, only a few families are having their pick-up/drop-off location relocated, as a result of the construction.”

Marshall said most of the construction should be completed during the summer months before school resumes this fall.

For more information about the project, visit http:// www.wceo.us/ or contact WCEO at 513-695-3301.