WEST CHESTER TOWNSHIP — The long-awaited widening of Cox Road has hit a snag.

        The Butler County commissioners and Cincinnati Gas & Electric Co. disagree over who should have to pay to move utility poles out of the way — and unless a last-minute settlement is reached, Judge Patricia Oney is set to hear the case today in Common Pleas Court.
       

Cost: $500,000-plus
               Steve Brash, CG&E spokesman, said the utility company was “In the process of reviewing the county's suit” and had no comment.

        Moving the poles is estimated to cost $500,000 to $600,000, said Roger Gates, chief of the county prosecutor's civil division.

        If the county were forced to absorb that cost, “the project could be curtailed,” said Greg Wilkens, county engineer.

        The $6.8 million project, paid with local tax money, includes widening 1 mile of Cox Road between Tylersville and Hamilton-Mason roads, as well as upgrades to Tylersville.

        The project would expand the two-lane Cox to five lanes plus turn lanes.

        “The project is well-needed,” Mr. Wilkens said, and has been discussed for more than a decade. It's especially important now, he said, because of developments coming to the Cox-Tylersville area.
       

Mall in plans
               A $50-million, 500-square-foot outdoor mall, Voice of America Centre, is to open in October 2002. And construction is already under way for a $100 million medical center associated with University of Cincinnati.

        Even now, Cox Road is backed up with traffic at certain times of day, Mr. Wilkens said.

        He also said future interchange additions are dependent upon completion of the Cox project.

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