“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, which was constructed in sections decades ago, is a barrier for pedestrians, cyclists, bus riders and even motorists, says the city’s grant application.
Escobar has said that U.S. 35 carves up neighborhoods and creates desolate spaces along and underneath the highway that attract problems like littering and trash.
U.S. 35 has a complicated and confusing network of exits and on-ramps on a stretch of the highway between Gettysburg Avenue to the west and Steve Whalen Boulevard to the east, the city said.
On- and off-ramps are tricky to navigate and take up real estate that could be redeveloped into pocket parks, green-space, walking and bike trails, and new residential or commercial projects.
The city recently was awarded $2 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation to study the five-mile section of U.S. 35 between Steve Whalen Boulevard and Gettysburg Avenue.
That part of the highway has about 18 on- and off-ramps and touches more than a dozen neighborhoods. The planning work is expected to take a couple of years.
Most U.S. 35 underpasses in downtown are not pedestrian friendly — instead are dark, isolated, dirty and lack lighting and wayfinding components, the grant application states.
Credit: Jim Noelker
Credit: Jim Noelker
The city also plans to study the non-ramp, traffic light intersection at U.S. 35 and Abbey Avenue, near the Dayton Metro Library West Branch, that has eight lanes of traffic that pedestrian must cross. The city has proposed installing a pedestrian bridge at that intersection.
Dayton neighborhoods on the northern side of U.S. 35 have easier access to downtown and its resources and amenities, and many of them tend to be in better socioeconomic shape than the neighborhoods on the south side of the highway.
The construction of U.S. 35 caused or exacerbated segregation, small business disruption and neighborhood isolation, the grant application says.
“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.
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