“We’ll be glad when Salem is finally completely rebuilt,” said Dayton City Commissioner Darryl Fairchild. “That’ll be a good day for northwest Dayton.”
Gettysburg Avenue
The city recently approved a $2.7 million contract to reconstruct North Gettysburg Avenue from West Third Street to West Second Street.
The project will replace deteriorating pavement, curb, sidewalk, catch basins and will install new street lights, said Joe Weinel, chief engineer with the city of Dayton.
Weinel said the project will narrow the drive lanes and median and will install a multi-use path on the west side of the street. A new water line will be installed on the 0.35-mile stretch of road.
LaShea Lofton, Dayton’s deputy city manager, said, “The project also represents a collaboration between water and the department of public works to not only upgrade the roadway infrastructure but also the underground water infrastructure by combining the two projects into one.”
The project is expected to be completed in June 2024.
The city already rebuilt Gettysburg Avenue from U.S. 35 to West Third Street in 2020, city officials said.
The $1.4 million project put in new asphalt, curbs, sidewalks, driveway aprons, wheelchair ramps and water line.
Dayton plans to reconstruct a half mile stretch of Gettysburg Avenue, from West Second Street to Hoover Avenue in 2028, said Weinel. The project is expected to cost about $1.9 million.
The city plans to rebuild all of North Gettysburg over the next to 10 to 20 years, Weinel said.
Salem Avenue
Dayton is reconstructing Salem Avenue in phases — and there will be at least half a dozen of them.
The third phase got underway in May and should run through May of next year.
The $2.7 million project will redo Salem from Manhattan Avenue to Cornell Drive.
Contractor Milcon Concrete Inc. will replace the pavement, curbs, walks and driveway aprons.
Other upgrades include new street lighting, traffic signals, catch basins and brick crosswalks at signalized intersections.
The first phase of Salem Avenue started in 2021 and was completed that year. It focused on North Avenue to Manhattan Avenue.
The second phase, which is from West Riverview to North Avenue, began in May 2022 and should be completed by the end of next month, Weinel said.
The fourth stage is expected to start in spring 2026; the fifth in spring 2027; and the sixth in spring 2028.
The city recently approved a contract to prepare right-of-way plans for the fourth phase, which will rebuild Salem from Cornell Drive to Emerson Avenue.
Wayne Avenue
Either later this month or sometime next month, Wayne Avenue will be resurfaced from Anderson Street (by Tank’s Bar & Grill) to Waldo Street (by Esther Price Candies), according to David Escobar, senior engineer II with the city of Dayton.
The city this past spring told the Dayton Daily News the repaving project probably would be finished by August. But Escobar said that was just an estimate before the project went out to bid and it wasn’t based on contractor schedules.
The Wayne Avenue hill in front of Kroger is a source of many complaints from residents and motorists because it is a bumpy stretch of road.
Next year, the road on the hill will be reconstructed and widened from Wyoming Street (by Wendy’s and Sunoco) to Waldo Street. The city plans to spend about $2.6 million widening the busy thoroughfare, and the project will put in new curb, sidewalks and lighting.
Many motorists will be elated when new pavement is laid down. But some people who live and work in the South Park and Twin Towers neighborhoods have publicly voiced concerns about the road widening.
This coalition of community members and stakeholders said cars fly down Wayne Avenue at dangerous speeds and they fear the widening will make matters worse.
Coalition members called on the city to redesign Wayne from Wyoming Street to U.S. 35 and reduce the number of lanes of traffic, lower the speed limit and add bike lanes. City leaders said the city would meet with group to talk about their concerns.
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