Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The interchange between Beavercreek and Dayton is a popular route for U.S. 35 motorists, as Kettering sits to the south and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to the north.
Riverside officials, meanwhile, said to ease traffic congestion, motorists who can make them may want to take alternative routes.
Among them:
• On Woodman heading south: Use the Smithville Road/35 interchange by going east on Airway or Burkhardt roads and south on Smithville. Traffic through the Smithville interchange can turn east on Linden Avenue to Woodman.
• On Woodman heading north: Use the Smithville interchange by going west on Linden and north on Smithville. Traffic through the Smithville interchange can turn west on Burkhardt or Airway.
• On 35 heading east/west: Depending on your location and destination, use either the Smithville, I-675 or North Fairfield Road exists.
“Although inconvenience is inevitable with projects like this, we’re very glad ODOT is upgrading infrastructure in our community,” Riverside City Manager Josh Rauch said. “The current interchange configuration conflicts with traffic on Linden, and we’re optimistic the new layout will benefit motorists coming to and through Riverside.”
At least one lane of Woodman traffic will be maintained in each direction between Burkhardt and Linden throughout the project, according to ODOT Spokeswoman Loryn Bryson.
Ramp closure detours will be posted when they occur, she said in an email.
The work zone shifted both directions of Woodman traffic into the southbound lanes last week and that’s expected to last until October, she said.
At that point, all traffic will shift into the northbound lanes and remain that way until September 2024, Bryson added.
Digital signs - in addition to the standard ones for construction work zones – have been installed on the highway and on Woodman to alert motorists, Bryson said.
Work started last month, and the targeted completion date for the entire project is by Oct. 1, 2024, she said. Eagle Bridge Co. is the project contractor.
The highest daily vehicle average on U.S. 35 near the interchange in 2021 was 67,200 west of Woodman, according to the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.
On Woodman, the highest daily vehicle average for that year was 23,700 north of the highway, data from the commission shows.
The work is part of the multi-phase U.S. 35 improvements between I-675 in Beavercreek and Steve Whalen Boulevard in Dayton, according to ODOT.
Due to funding constraints, ODOT said a tight urban diamond interchange at U.S. 35 and Woodman is a more practical design than the originally proposed single-point urban interchange.
Moving the U.S. 35 ramps will create a larger distance between the ramps and Linden, and the left turn lanes on Woodman to the ramps will be extended, Bryson said.
The ramps at Woodman will also be upgraded to include a left turn lane, right turn lane and a middle lane with the option to turn in either direction, she added.
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