But Miami Twp. Community Development Director Chris Snyder said he now expects construction on the estimated $1.7 million project to go forward this year.
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“It’s moved up,” he said. “Originally, we were planning on not doing construction until 2019 or 2020. So it has been moved up. We’ve advanced the project.”
Having the project – aided by more than $1 million in federal funds – go forward this year would not only address the safety issue sooner, Snyder said, but potentially cut costs.
“It’s a needed improvement,” he said. “The sooner we can get that done, the better for the public.
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“From a design standpoint, a contingency standpoint, the sooner you can do it the less unknowns there are - inflationary costs, the other factors that could come in,” Snyder added. “Obviously, trying to plan for a project now versus five years from now, we don’t know what could happen in the construction sector.”
A lack of sidewalks along Lyons from Byers to Ohio 741 and on the state route’s west side from Lyons northward puts pedestrians walking along side traffic at risk, officials have said. It is a common path for township or Miamisburg residents west of I-75 to walk to and from the mall or nearby businesses along the Ohio 741 corridor.
The specific time frame for the project will depend on how work progresses between the township, the engineering firm LJB Inc. and the Montgomery County Transportation District, which is expected to oversee planned improvements, Snyder said.
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At this point, though, he said, the goal is to have construction begin this fall and last “a couple of months.”
First, Miami Twp. trustees must approve a resolution for a deal with the county TID to “provide design, engineering and construction on a turnkey basis.” Incomplete details kept trustees from considering the measure last week and they will likely vote on it next month.
Once trustees take action, the process for bidding the project can start, Snyder said.
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Slightly more than $1 million to fund the work will come through a grant from the by Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement program, which is administered by the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission.
CMAQ was implemented to support surface transportation projects, and other related efforts that contribute air quality improvements and provide congestion relief, according to the commission’s website.
The township’s portion of the work would be financed through a loan by the State Infrastructure Bank, according to county documents. The SIB provides low-interest loans for a variety of projects, county TID Executive Director Steve Stanley has said.
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