HAMILTON, Ohio -- A plan to separate a dangerous, confusing railroad crossing from Hamilton's city streets isn't exactly "new." It's been talked about, on and off, for more than 100 years.
But Thursday, it got a nearly $4 million boost to help it actually, finally happen.
The South Hamilton Crossing project -- centered in the area of Grand Boulevard, Central Avenue and the current Marshall Avenue -- will add a new way to get across town. Right now, people only have two east-west routes if a train is on the tracks, and one's not that great: There's an underpass on High Street; another underpass, on Corwin Avenue, is just one lane.
That can be a problem for the city's police officers, firefighters and paramedics if they have to get to a call with a train blocking the way.
The Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments is giving Hamilton $3.7 million from the federal Surface Transportation Program to fix that. Once built, Grand Boulevard will extend west above the four railroad tracks on the Hamilton's south side, creating a direct east-west connection across the city.
Oh, and that new overpass sits next to 60 acres of city-owned land that's ripe for development. According to the city's website, the project will also help with access to Miami University's Hamilton campus and Vora Technology Park.
Cincinnati's Duck Creek Road extension in Madisonville also got a big chunk of money from the federal program, nearly $1.7 million. The new segment of Duck Creek Road, with a total price tag of $6.25 million, will be built across a portion of the John P. Parker Elementary School campus.
The new road's main purpose is to help Medpace CEO August Troendle's plans for a $100 million mixed-use project on eight acres near Red Bank and Madison roads. That development is expected to include a hotel, conference center and office and commercial space. Once built, it could bring 774 office jobs to the neighborhood.
IN-DEPTH: Competing visions for future of Madisonville
OKI also awarded money to to:
- Replacing two 40-foot buses for the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority ($760,000)
- Resurfacing Reading Road in Evendale between Inwood Drive and the northern city limit ($487,100)
- Adding a lane for traffic headed south on Route 4 to westbound Interstate 275 in Springdale ($482,781)
- Resurfacing Sharon Road between Crowne Point Drive and Mosteller Road in Sharonville ($250,680)
- Replacing three light-transit vehicles for the Butler County Regional Transit Authority ($222,264)
A drawing of the proposed Madisonville development. Courtesy of RBM Development
