By John Kiesewetter
Enquirer staff writer

FAIRFIELD - River Road, washed out by a January flood, could reopen to two-lane traffic late Friday afternoon.

Pavement will be installed today - weather permitting - near Cincinnati's Charles M. Bolton Water Treatment Plant on the southwestern part of the city.

"They're still shooting to open it on Friday," says David Hoffman, city construction services manager.

From March through June, vehicles were able to travel through the area on a temporary one-lane road built on waterworks property. River Road provides easy access to U.S. 27 (Colerain Avenue), Northgate Mall, Ross Township and Procter & Gamble's Miami Valley Laboratories in Colerain Township.

The bypass closed June 28, when work began on the $408,000 construction project to stabilize the Great Miami River bank and replace the road.

City officials had said in June that the road would reopen in eight weeks, about the time students returned to Fairfield Schools.

If weather delays completion of the road this week, it will be open by early next week, Hoffman said. That would still be within the 12-week maximum projected to fix the road, Hoffman said.

Part of the work was paid for by a $131,300 grant from the Ohio Public Works Commission.

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E-mail jkiesewetter@enquirer.com