Meetings were held December 9 and December 15 at ODOT District 8 to review the proposed scope of engineering activity leading to stage one design, as provided by the consultant. This submittal was provided to ensure consistency with ODOT’s new Project Development Process for Major Projects. Review comments were provided and incorporated into the revised task outline and schedule that will be presented at the TID Board’s January meeting. At the meeting, alternative approaches will be presented for Board consideration. Selection of the desired approach will balance the risk of expending design funding prior to ODOT and FHWA approving the Interchange Justification Study, against the advantage of completing the project sooner. ODOT’s consultant, Burgess and Niple, is proceeding with the development of certified traffic volumes for the project, which are a necessary input to the design process and are due to be delivered in early January. Discussions have commenced with the Butler County Department of Environmental Services concerning the Liberty-Union Water Storage Tank that is likely to be affected by the ramp connections at Hamilton-Mason Road. Coordination will be required to integrate the interchange work with ODOT’s project to widen I-75 which is scheduled to be let to construction in early 2008. In connection with the ODOT project, overpass reconstruction will be required at several crossings, including Bethany Road. At the TID’s request, a meeting has been scheduled for January 14 to discuss the potential for creating a multi-lane replacement structure to accommodate future improvements to Bethany Road. A decision is required quickly, as ODOT has already scoped the design consultant for the widening.

KZF has commenced work on the project and is currently gathering field data. The schedule of project milestones is as follows:

Environmental Document Approved 8/1/04

Stage 1 Plan Submittal 5/1/04

Stage 1 Plan Completion 6/7/04

Stage 3 Plan Submittal 4/15/05

Stage 3 Plan Completion 5/15/05

Tracings Completion 12/1/05

ROW Authorization 10/1/04

Region ROW Clearance 10/1/05

District ROW Certification 12/1/05

Plan Package to ODOT Central Office 1/2/06

Sale 2/15/06

Award 3/30/06

Notification letters have been forwarded to all affected property owners, concerning the field crew activity and setting of markers. This group will constitute the majority of the project stakeholders and will be invited to participate in the public involvement process.

The Butler County Engineer has assumed management of this project. The TID continues to manage the engineering contract. LJB, Inc. is proceeding with the intersection redesign plans. Stage II plans will be forwarded to the TID, Butler County Engineer, and ODOT by January 16 for review and comment. This submission will include all right-of-way information necessary to commence parcel descriptions. Based on a meeting held December 17 with Butler County Department of Environmental Services staff, these plans will show all water and sewer lines proposed for replacement, relocation, and expansion. Following the review period, a meeting will be scheduled at the end of January to resolve any issues.

ODOT’s new Project Development Process has rendered null the original scope of services under which the consultant was selected. Discussions among the TID, ODOT, and the consultant continue in order to define the necessary deliverables and revise the cost accordingly to complete the environmental document. Agreements with the various funding sources are awaiting the revised costs and may be available for Board action at the January meeting. The original scope anticipated a 16-month project duration. A revised duration and completion date will result from the scope redefinition. There are no further scheduled milestone dates, since construction funding has not yet been committed to this project. It is hoped that by advancing the environmental phase using local funding, the project will achieve a higher score in the next round of OKI project selection, or alternatively in ODOT’s TRAC selection process.