Miami Student

Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: Front Page

The city's road construction, to begin in May, stretches from the intersections of U.S. Route 27, Locust and Church streets to U.S. Route 27 and Merry Day Drive.

Once the dust settles, drills cease spinning and cement dries, students and residents will experience smoother driving along U.S. Route 27 North.

Originally proposed to Oxford City Council in 1984, the original plan of what is now the North 27 Improvement Plan did not begin to be implemented until 1992, after it had been tabled for lack of city funds. Now administered by the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT), the project is a collaboration between ODOT and the city, financed 70 percent by state funds with 30 percent contribution from the city.

According to Oxford City Engineer Victor Popescu, current construction along U.S. Route 27 involves the relocation of utilities by Duke Energy, Verizon Communications and Oxford Natural Gas in preparation for the main construction to begin in May following a mandatory pre-construction conference between the city and company Don S. Cisle Contractor, Inc., based in Hamilton, Ohio.

Although the meeting is open to the public, the conference is predominately between project administrators, contractors and utilities companies. The conference will be held at 9 a.m. April 19 at the ODOT district aid's office in Lebanon.

According to Popescu, construction on U.S. Route 27 will begin seven to 10 days following the pre-construction conference, beginning in May with a scheduled completion date of Oct. 31, 2008.

Improvements on the one-mile stretch, beginning at the intersection where U.S. Route 27 meets Locust and Church streets and ending at Merry Day Drive, will include the creation of tree lawns and sidewalks on both sides of the road as well as a center lane that will allow left turn traffic.

"As it is right now, if someone wants to go left, they back up traffic until there is a chance to make a left turn," Popescu said.

According to Popescu, drivers who avoid left turn traffic by going around other cars makes U.S. Route 27 a dangerous road for pedestrians and bike riders.

"If there is a car that is going left and there's traffic, people will go onto that so-called sidewalk to pass, which makes it dangerous if there's anybody walking there," Popescu said.

Continued...

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