FAIRFAX — The war on flash-flooding in this east-side Cincinnati village has moved up a notch with the start of a $12.7 million project to reroute a creek and widen a main thoroughfare.

        The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Metropolitan Sewer District of Cincinnati, city of Cincinnati and the village of Fairfax are all sponsoring the project.

        Duck Creek is being rerouted by installing a culvert on the west side of Red Bank Road between U.S. 50 and Fair Lane. The work is part of a $36 million flood control project planned by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

        That project also calls for building a series of flood walls, pump stations and levees stretching from Kennedy Heights 3.8 miles south to the Little Miami River.

        Jennifer Kaminer, Fairfax administrator, said the village received a $1.5 million grant from the state to widen Red Bank Road, which will be done along with work on the flood project.

        “We decided to combine the two projects now so that we would only have to close down Red Bank once,” she said. “The village has to put in a million dollars for the road-widening project as our local share.”

        That phase includes widening Red Bank Road from two lanes to four from U.S. 50 on the north to Fair Lane.

        The project has started with the closing of Red Bank Road at U.S. 50.

        “The next step is to build a temporary road and a wall,” said Scott B. LeBlanc, chief engineer for Ahern & Associates Inc. of Springfield, the contractor.

        “This is going to involve building the underground culvert and building a temporary road over it, relocating water mains, constructing a temporary railroad crossing, closing some roads and reopening others.”

        The project is to be completed in 2004.

        Residents of Fairfax, at a meeting this week at the Cincinnati Sports Club, expressed concerns about noise, dust and difficulties for traffic exiting and entering Red Bank Road.

        “I am definitely concerned about the noise,” said Tasha Ross of 3659 Old Red Bank Road. “We have lived here since 1979 and even now the traffic noise is almost unbearable. With the new construction and widening of Red Bank Road, I can see it getting worse.”

        More questions came from the audience of about 50 people concerning dust and noise than whether the project would eliminate the flooding.

        “I am not worried about handling the dust while we are there working, because we can always water it down,” said Mr. LeBlanc. “I am worried about if a storm comes up at night and gets into a pile of dirt. Our plans are to maintain contact with people in the neighborhood to let us know about these kinds of problems.”

        This project is a part of the $800 million Eastern Corridor Project, a transportation improvement plan that stretches from downtown Cincinnati to Batavia, and from Interstate 471 in Northern Kentucky to Milford. That project is being planned by the Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments.

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