The project on the structure at the intersection of Seton Hill Street is set for next spring, causing traffic detours for West Whipp involving Mad River and Rahn roads, and Ohio 48, according to Montgomery County Engineer Paul Gruner.
“The condition of this bridge is pretty severe,” county Project Manager Joe Dura told commissioners recently.
The Whipp bridge is rated a three of a scale of nine, he added, and has “various states of deterioration,” records show.
“The invert is severely corroded,” Dura said. “Due to an existing natural spring (below) water jets up through the invert several inches along the bridge in multiple locations.”
The Seton Hill detour will involve Saddlewood Avenue, and Fieldson and Alex Bell roads, Gruner said.
Replacing the bridge near John Hole Elementary School is estimated to cost $523,000 with a state grant covering $345,750, according to the county.
The structure is “barely large enough to be classified as a bridge,” said Gruner, noting the state definition is at least a 10-foot span along the centerline of the road.
But it’s located just west of Ohio 48, which runs in the county’s southern half through some of the Dayton-area’s most populated suburbs, including Kettering and Washington Twp.
Less than a mile south of the Whipp intersection at Interstate 675, the state route handles a daily average of more than 41,500 vehicles, Ohio Department of Transportation records show.
Aside from replacing the bridge, the project involves minor roadway improvements, including sidewalk installation, extension of curb and gutter, modifying an existing storm sewer, and safety grading, county records show.
The new bridge design was completed in June and right-of-way for the project is expected to be acquired by the end of the year, Dura said.
Bids are estimated to be awarded in February with construction to start in March, Dura said.
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