HAMILTON — The eventual route of the proposed Ohio 63 extension is slowly coming together, but officials still have decisions to make.

        While the committee steering the project has agreed to recommend that the road run south of Trenton and north of the Miller brewery near Trenton, there are several alternative routes for each end of the 10-mile road. The road will extend Ohio 63 from Ohio 4 in Monroe to U.S. 127 near Seven Mile.

        The two alternatives at the proposed western end run west from Jacksonburg Road about three-quarters of a mile apart. They both tie into U.S. 127 near Seven Mile.

        The northernmost of those routes parallels Ohio 73 from Cotton Run Road into Seven Mile.

        On the new road's eastern end, three possible routes run east from Woodsdale Road to Ohio 4, eventually connecting with existing Ohio 63.

        “These are the options that least minimize impact and still do the job,” said Richard Record, principal of Balke Engineers, the project's consulting engineer. “These are pretty even in terms of effectiveness and impact.”

        The proposed routes, along with several recommendations from Monroe officials, will be presented at a public workshop Dec. 18, the committee agreed Thursday.

        After that meeting, the committee — made up of about 60 business representatives, and local, county and state officials — will then nar row the alternatives to a preferred alignment. That will then be presented to the public before a final recommendation is made.

        Because the eastern end of the Ohio 63 extension will end in Monroe, leaders there want to minimize the impact on their city.

        “All of that traffic is dumped into our city,” Monroe Mayor Elbert Tannreuther said. “There's going to be some give and take here; it's not going to be all give.”

        The road is a $47 million project, and the state has committed $27.7 million toward it, Butler County Engineer Dean Foster said. The county will pick up the rest.

        Officials are hoping to take bids on the project in late 2003, Mr. Foster said. The road could then open in late 2005.

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