Years of salt application on nearby roads have affected the wall, causing it to crack in multiple places.
“We’re seeing some deterioration right now,” Bartlett said. “It’s anybody’s guess what we’ll see next year and the year after.”
The city would like to replace the wall and turn it into a grassy boulevard, reducing the speed limit from its current 45 mile per hourto about 35 mph.
The wall was built in the 1970s, and Riverside has developed since then, Bartlett said.
Riverside officials would like to replace the fence on the road, which cars have hit frequently, she said, and repair the alignment the road’s alignment prior to replacing the wall.
Bartlett said the city is anticipating being able to get rid of the wall entirely after 2028. The city planned to apply for a grant to undertake the 2028 project, and a feasibility study will be conducted next spring for a better estimate on how much replacing the wall could cost.
That stretch of road also sees frequent car crashes that end up in property damage, Bartlett said.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, which controls the other side of the wall, is having similar issues, she said.
Riverside has four options to temporarily fix the wall, Bartlett said during a recent Riverside City Council work session.
- Install a barrier guardrail in place of the wall, for about $935,000, which could be expensive to maintain
- Install a portable concrete barrier in place of the wall for about $785,000, which would be inexpensive to maintain, and the city could sell once they’re finished, though it’s not clear for how much;
- place a guardrail in front of the barrier, which would be about $1.15 million and could also be costly to maintain
- Choose a maintenance project for about $150,000 for one year or about $750,000 for five years, though Bartlett said that would only cover about 500 feet of the 1,500 foot wall.
Bartlett recommended that city council choose the portable concrete barrier option.
However, council member have not made any decisions on what they want to do with the wall. Instead, the council said they were interested in a study, to determine how badly the wall is in disrepair.
Bartlett told council that cost could be between $25,000 and $30,000 for that kind of study. She said she reached out to the Ohio Department of Transportation for help with that study, and she’s not sure when the city would be able to complete that project.
City Council members asked if the $150,000 option could be applied to a wider swath of the wall, which would still be cheaper than the $785,000 option. Bartlett said she could explore that option.
“We are looking for less expensive options than (the $785,000) because we are planning to replace it in the next eight years,” Bartlett said. “If we can get away with that, it would be great.”
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