FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The concept for the roadway portion of the project is a four-lane, boulevard-style road (two travel lanes in each direction) with a turn lane or landscaped median in the middle. It will have a speed limit of 35 mph, and will ideally have a sidewalk on one side of the street and a shared-use path that can accommodate bicyclists, pedestrians, strollers, wheelchairs and more on the other side. Bump-outs and crosswalks would be included at street corners to make crossing the street easier and safer.

Below is a conceptual rendering of what portions of the NHX roadway could look like.

We are currently still in the planning stages for the North Hamilton Crossing. The NHX will be built in phases due to the magnitude of cost. Due to the condition of the 100-year-old Black Street Bridge, we’re currently planning to start with the West Section first. The West Section focuses on improving the connection between North B Street and US 127 and includes a new bridge across the Great Miami River. Once the recommended route has been approved and we have the necessary funding in hand, we’ll be able to proceed with preparing detailed project designs, relocating utilities and securing the right-of-way needed. We expect these tasks will take between three and five years to complete, and it will take another several years to build the bridge.

Currently, the timing for the Central and East sections, which extend from US 127 to SR 129, is unknown. Like the West Section, a considerable amount of planning and preparation must be completed and funding must be secured before construction can begin.

Planning and building the NHX is expected to be a long-term process. Due to limitations of funding sources, funding will come from a combination of federal and local resources over multiple years. Although we expect work to progress primarily from west to east, we will pursue funding opportunities for all parts of the project as they become available. This could shift the order in which some elements of the project are built.

The Chem-Dyne site underwent clean-up in the 1980s. Since then, reviews completed every five years have confirmed that the clean-up effort has remained effective in protecting public health and the environment. Multiple environmental regulations remain in place, however, to regulate what can and cannot be done on the Chem-Dyne site. Excavations are restricted on the site, but these regulations do allow non-invasive structures such as parking lots, ballfields, and roads to be built on top of the clean soils covering the site. Any use of the site for the NHX project will be managed in complete accordance with these regulations.

The project team acknowledges the significant community value of the ballfields and splashpad and is committed to working with the community to explore ways to preserve and/or enhance these assets, including possibly shifting of some of the routes currently shown, if needed. Any impacted feature will be replaced with an option that is at least equal to, if not better than, what’s offered now. In fact, the NHX project may be able to help accelerate and partially fund improvements to LJ Smith Park.