“The goal of the city is provide bike and trail connectivity for the subdivisions east of Bypass 48 that are cut off because of the highway,” City Manager Scott Brunka said.
Brunka said the city received a $900,000 federal grant through the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments in late 2019. Lebanon has agreed to provide ODOT $434,265 from those funds for the city’s share of the project — money that City Council budgeted for in 2022, according to Brunka.
City officials said the opportunity to work with ODOT was due to plans to replace the Turtlecreek Union Road bridge over the Ohio 48 Bypass. Brunka said ODOT will be raising the height of the bridge so that it conforms to height standards.
City Engineer Dana Bicknell said as part of the planned improvements to the bridge over Ohio 48, ODOT will be adding a bike lane and a buffer area. Decorative fencing also will be added to the bridge.
Bicknell said the city has provided the bike path plans to ODOT, and the agency will combine those plans with the overpass project in addition to handling the bidding and construction administration.
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