“The proposed planning study will review and redesign the configuration of the U.S. 35 corridor, including at-grade intersections, interchanges and related roadways to explore the possibility of removing, retrofitting or addressing elements that hinder mobility and safety and contribute to environmental and public health issues,” said David Escobar, Dayton’s city engineer.
U.S. 35 was originally planned and designed in the early 1960s. A section of U.S. 35 through East Dayton was completed in 1971, and a section of the highway in West Dayton started construction in the late 1980s and was completed in 1996, city staff say.
The construction of U.S. 35 carved up diverse neighborhoods, cutting off poorer areas south of the highway from vital resources and amenities on the northern side, says the city’s planning grant application to the U.S. Department of Transportation.
U.S. 35 also isolates “assets” south of the highway, like the University of Dayton and Miami Valley Hospital, and the highway is a barrier for pedestrians, cyclists, bus riders and even motorists, the grant application states.
U.S. 35 has a complicated and confusing network of exits and on-ramps on a roughly five-mile stretch of the highway between Gettysburg Avenue to the west and Steve Whalen Boulevard to the east, city officials said.
Officials said the on- and off-ramps are tricky to navigate and that the spaces beneath the highway are desolate. Most of the U.S. 35 underpasses in downtown are dark, isolated, dirty and lack lighting, wayfinding and other pedestrian-friendly features, the grant application states.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The city says the streetscape and street grid connections to the highway could use significant improvements.
City staff believe the real estate occupied by the ramps and access roads could be redeveloped into pocket parks, green-space, walking and bike trails and new residential or commercial projects.
The city this month was awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to study this stretch of U.S. 35, which has about 18 on- and off-ramps and touches roughly a dozen neighborhoods.
The planning work is expected to take a couple of years to complete.
“The $2 million federal grant for the Revive35 project is a critical investment in Dayton’s future, addressing public safety, accessibility and economic growth,” said U.S. Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton, in a prepared statement.
Dayton over the course of decades lost population and saw significant disinvestment, which coincided with redlining, segregation and “white flight” to the suburbs.
City officials say the construction of U.S. 35 exacerbated segregation and other issues, like small business disruption and neighborhood isolation.
The city says more than one in five households in the study area lack access to automobiles, and these residents need safe ways to take advantage of recreational, cultural, employment, health and social service opportunities in and around downtown.
This planning project is expected to explore ways to remove and reconfigure the network of on-ramps and exits along the highway, and identify redevelopment opportunities.
Planning goals include identifying ways to revitalize business districts that were bypassed and harmed by highway construction and reduce the number of blighted properties along the roadway.
The city expects to study the at-grade traffic light intersection at U.S. 35 and Abbey Avenue, near the Dayton Metro Library West Branch. This intersection has eight lanes of traffic that are challenging for pedestrians to cross. The city has proposed installing a pedestrian bridge at the intersection to improve safety.
Remaking parts of U.S. 35 would be expensive, but city officials say they expect to seek multiple sources of funding for projects recommended during the planning process.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
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