LIBERTY TWP. — A proposed interchange off the Michael A. Fox Highway east of Interstate 75 won't receive Ohio Department of Transportation support until at least next year, county leaders were told in a private meeting Wednesday at Gov. Bob Taft's off ice.

        In the meantime, ODOT officials will help the county move the project along, completing required studies and clearing red tape. And a contrite Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox agreed to work better with ODOT.

MEETING ON TRAFFIC

West Chester's traffic woes are on the agenda for tonight's “town hall meeting,“ where residents of southern Butler County can discuss growth and other issues with Enquirer editors, reporters and local public officials. The meeting will run 7-8:30 p.m. at the West Chester Township Hall, 9100 Centre Pointe Drive, in the Union Centre area. Everyone is welcome.

        The meeting in Columbus included Butler and Liberty leaders; Ohio Sen. Scott Nein, R-Middletown; state Rep. Gary Cates, R-West Chester; ODOT Director Gordon Proctor; and ot hers, although the governor did not attend.

        The interchange has generated much controversy in recent weeks, starting last month when Mr. Fox drew Mr. Taft's ire by telling him after a school ribbon-cutting ceremony that the best way to get the interchange done was to tell Mr. Proctor to support it.

        ODOT, however, is holding off on supporting new interchanges along or near I-75 between Interstate 275 and Interstate 675 in suburban Dayton until a regional study is complete early next year.

        “There's still some major hurdles they need to overcome,” said Joe Andrews, Mr. Taft's spokesman. “But (the interchange) is a regional priority and it's always been our intention to help with regional priorities in any way we can. It can be done and it will be done; but there are, once again, certain processes that have to be gone through.”

        Butler County and Liberty officials want to extend the Fox highway a quarter-mile east to connect with a proposed four-mile extension of Cox Road in southeastern Liberty Township. They say it would lead to thousands of new jobs and millions in tax revenue and would ease traffic congestion.

        While Wednesday's meeting fell short of the county getting an outright endorsement of the project from ODOT, state transportation officials did offer assistance.

        Mr. Proctor pledged to establish an ODOT technical assistance team to get the county through the environmental impacts and design processes and other regulatory issues that must be dealt with to get ODOT and Federal Highway Administration approval, Mr. Fox said.

        “Considering where we have come from, this was a great meeting,” Mr. Fox said. “This is exactly what we wanted when we asked for the meeting in early August. The only way you succeed in putting these projects together is all the affected parties working together.”

        At the end of the session, which ran an hour and 15 minutes, Mr. Fox also apologized to Brian Hicks, Mr. Taft's chief of staff, for upsetting the governor.

        “I said, "I'm not sure what I did to set the governor off, but whatever it was I apologize for it and we need your help,”' Mr. Fox recalled.

        “The issue wasn't, is ODOT going to single out our project over other projects and say, "We select this one before the study is done?' Would I like that? Sure. But is it realistic to expect that and reasonable to ask that at this point? You work within the constraints they give you.”

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