By Cindy Schroeder
The Cincinnati Enquirer

CRESTVIEW HILLS - A long-sought study of busy Dixie Highway's traffic problems should begin early next year.

The 18-month study will provide a guide for improving traffic flow along Kenton County's most heavily traveled corridor, Dory Montazemi, deputy executive director of the Ohio Kentucky Indiana Regional Council of Governments, said Thursday.

More than a year ago, the Kenton County Transportation Task Force, an advisory group of government leaders, made improving the eight-mile stretch of Dixie Highway in that county its No. 1 priority.

Most of the $450,000 study, or $360,000, is from federal sources, while Kenton County and the state Transportation Cabinet are each contributing $45,000.

"Every time there's an accident on I-75, Dixie Highway backs up,'' Montazemi said. During rush hours, traffic jams on I-75 also funnel drivers onto the secondary road, slowing traffic flow along Dixie.

A proposal to hire TEC Engineering of Hamilton County to do the Dixie Highway corridor study is expected to get the go-ahead from the OKI board of directors next week.

"We can't add lanes to Dixie Highway, but we can tweak things here and there,'' Montazemi told the task force.

One of the things the study will examine is how synchronization of traffic signals along Dixie Highway could help traffic, especially when accidents occur on I-75, Montazemi said.

The study also will recommend how to consolidate access points to the many businesses along Dixie, and suggest improvements for congested intersections.

Other possible improvements include electronically pre-empting the signal system, or changing a traffic light from red to green, for emergency vehicles, and extending the ARTIMIS system of electronic road billboards to Dixie Highway to alert drivers to accidents and traffic tie-ups.

E-mail cschroeder@enquirer.com