$1.6M road extension adds new traffic light, sidewalks along Ohio 741 near Cox Arboretum

The project, complete with landscaping and a new pedestrian path to Cox Arboretum, officially opened Monday following a ceremonial ribbon cutting with Miami Twp., Montgomery County and Ohio Department of Transportation officials. A nearly $2 milliion State Infrastructure Bank loan financed the extension project and others.

The project was paid off through Miami Crossing Joint Economic Development District funds, officials said.

Matt Parrill, capital programs administrator for ODOT District 7, said the project includes safety and operational efficiencies such as pedestrian crossings with signalized crosswalks, better progression of traffic via coordinated traffic signals and sidewalk connectivity.

ODOT in recent years has completed several projects along Ohio 741 near the extension, including projects south of Ohio 725, at Lyons Road and at Alex Bell Road, Parrill said.

“It’s just a continuation of an arterial that is urban in nature but travels a lot of vehicles during the day,” he said.

At ODOT’s last count in 2019, Ohio 741 between Vienna Parkway and Silvercliff Drive had an annual average daily traffic of 26,349 vehicles per day.

The parkway’s enhancements are aimed at slowing traffic and keeping vehicles at its 25 mph speed limit. It also is a ‘no trucks’ route.

Miami Twp. Administrator Ronald Hess said extending the parkway to Ohio 741 allows for more convenient travel to a busy stretch of the growing community.

Township staff worked with the contractor and neighbors to ensure that the intersection is safe, completing studies and conducting public meetings early in the process, Hess said. Recognizing that traffic through the neighborhood could increase, the township will continue to monitor traffic, he said.

Trustee President John Morris said the road extension has been envisioned since 1977. He said the traffic signal allows residents to visit the township’s parks, as well as more safely get in and out of the neighborhood.

Besides enhancing the safety of transportation it the area, the Vienna Parkway extension also opens up to development two lots along the parkway extension, both of which are for sale, Morris said.

“We’re anxious to see what new people are willing to invest in our community, and the funds that we raise, because the township owns this land, whoever buys that land, will be reinvested into our parks, reinvested into our communities,” he said.

The Vienna Parkway extension already has paved the way for a new $12 million, 119-bed Vienna Springs Health Campus on 6.6 acres at the southeast corner of Ohio 741 and Vienna Parkway.

The 84,889-square-foot, two-story Trilogy Senior Living Community is the work of Louisville, Ky.-based Trilogy Health Services, which provides assisted living or personal care; memory care; post-acute healthcare services; and independent living.

It is scheduled to open in late summer.

Morris said DMK Development Group acquiring land from Miami Twp. to build the assisted living facility project helped the community finance the extension without tapping into any general funds.