BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
BATAVIA TOWNSHIP -- A proposed interchange on Ohio 32 at Stonelick Olive Branch Road moved a step closer Thursday when the Ohio Department of Transportation agreed to pay for half of the $7 million project.
The interchange, which officials say is still three to five years away, would relieve congestion on Ohio 32, make the divided highway safer and could boost a proposed Eastgate Parkway, said David Spinney, director of planning and development for Clermont County.
The county and area property owners will split the other $3.5 million cost for the interchange, Mr. Spinney said.
"By eliminating intersections on the east and west, it ultimately makes 32 a more efficient roadway," he said. "(Ohio) 32 has some of the worst intersections, as far as traffic accidents are concerned, in the state."
Though an interchange along Ohio 32 between Eastgate and Batavia has been discussed for years, the actual Stonelick Olive Branch Road project grew out of a county thoroughfare plan developed in 1993, Mr. Spinney said.
The interchange will have an immediate impact on Ohio 32, even before an Eastgate Parkway is built.
"It has independent utility," said Gordon Proctor, Ohio Department of Transportation chief of staff. "You can build it and nothing else and you've still got an improvement there. It has its own benefit, and it can proceed ahead of Eastgate Parkway."
County officials are still developing ideas for the parkway and its exact route. Preliminary plans are for it to link Ohio 32 on the east with Mount Carmel on the west.
The county has seen its share of growth in the past decade, especially commercial development.
"Since 1988 we have had well over $1 billion in nonresidential development," said Matt Van Sant, vice president of the Clermont County Chamber of Commerce. "We have retained over 10,000 Ohio jobs here in Clermont County and in that time we have created 4,600 new jobs."
Once the entire southern part of the county is developed, chamber officials say there could be 96,000 new jobs and 17,000 more residents. The new projects are expected to spur more commercial development in Union Township, an already booming part of the county.
"With that interchange and the incorporation of the Eastgate Parkway, that certainly will open up areas for development and potentially ease congestion along 32 traveling east and west," said Union Township Administrator Ken Geis. "What we're seeing are companies moving to the area, as well as the companies in the area reinvesting."
The interchange will provide easy access to Ohio 32 and Interstate 275, something that companies need to move their products and people. It should also make the area more viable for more commercial development, he said.
"It's good news," Mr. Geis said. "This is really the first leg of the Clermont County thoroughfare project and plan. We need to get the projects started, and this is a great opportunity to begin that."
Also Thursday, the state agreed to spend $1.1 million to help with continued improvements at the U.S. 50 - I-275 interchange. Both projects bode well for more development in Clermont County, officials said.
"We've always (known) for years that traffic access was our weakest spot, and these projects go a long way toward addressing that transportation weakness," Mr. Van Sant said. "It's really a couple of critical parts of making this full build-out possible."
