Kettering will seek grants to replace bridge over Dorothy Lane

MORE: Kettering polls residents on Ridgeway Road bridge replacement

May traffic data indicate about 900 vehicles cross the Ridgeway Road bridge each day. For comparison, nearly 15,000 vehicles cross the Stroop Road bridge rebuilt for an estimated $1.3 million.

In 2005, the city spent $500,000 to repair the Ridgeway Road bridge built in 1965, but those repairs are no longer considered sufficient.

Kettering used an online survey to poll Oakwood and Kettering residents on three potential options for future investment in the bridge:

• Replace the bridge, at a cost of between $1.5 and $2 million, with a similar design that would be accessible to both motorists and pedestrians;

• Replace it with a pedestrian bridge for an estimated $750,000; or

• Tear the bridge down with no replacement of any kind for $250,000.

City spokeswoman Stacy Schweikhart said it is too early to know if Kettering will ask the city of Oakwood to help financially support the bridge project.

The bridge is located in Kettering just outside the border with Oakwood.

More than 800 responses were received. Just under 700 were from Kettering, while 125 Oakwood residents responded.

Kettering city officials noted they were pleased with the high volume of responses, which were largely anonymous.

A Kettering resident from Chatham Drive wrote, “I am in total support of findin(g) a grant to help offset the cost of the bridge replacement. I frequent the bridge in the winter months so I can make a right hand turn onto Dorothy.”

One Oakwood resident who lives on Hadley Road wrote, “Turning onto Hillside from Dorothy Lane in either direction is already unsafe due to the curve of the hill and limited sight distance. I would like to see the bridge replaced to it’s current capacity.”

Another Oakwood resident on Grandon Road said, “For only 900 cars a day the other investments hardly seem like a good use of funds. Please remove the bridge.”

Another Kettering resident on Far Hills Avenue wrote, “The Romans built bridges 2,000 years ago that are still in use. It is a sad statement about our society that we build trash that only lasts 50 years.”