Liberty Way Interchange
Liberty Township in Butler County, Ohio, has been a thriving community over the last 20 years, so much so that residents and businesses were outgrowing their land mass area. This growth caused horrific traffic congestion along Tylersville Road in West Chester. In addition, there was limited access to homes and offices on the east side of the Liberty Way Interchange (I-75/SR 129) proving to make traveling in the immediate area a hardship. The Butler County Transportation Improvement District (TID) recognized the need to help support this flourishing community by upgrading the transportation network in the surrounding areas.
The Project
The Butler County TID called upon Resource International, Inc. (Rii) to assist with the interchange reconfiguration and supporting roadway improvements.
Originally a half interchange, the new Liberty Way Interchange includes collector-distributor type ramps, now providing access to/from the interchange to areas east of I-75. The modified interchange includes the following features:
- Four miles of new ramps,
- Six diverging/converging gore areas,
- New 116-foot span prestressed concrete I-beam bridge with integral abutments behind MSE walls,
- Precast 24-foot span arch bridge,
- Widening of a 131-foot two-span plate girder bridge,
- 15-foot high, top-down constructed soil nail wall in front of an existing abutment,
- New high-mast lighting, and
- One new signalized intersection.
Surrounding roadways also were improved to support the future traffic anticipated from the modified interchange. These roadway improvements included the widening and reconstruction of 2.1 miles of Liberty Way (formerly Hamilton-Mason Road) and an extension of 3,500 feet of Cox Road to the north (new roadway).
By participating in numerous presentations and public meetings, Rii worked closely with all stakeholders to select the best fit alternative and carrying that into the final design. Stakeholders included:
- Butler County Transportation Improvement District
- Liberty Township
- Fairfield Township
- Northern West Chester Township
- City of Hamilton
- City of Trenton
- City of Fairfield
- Ohio Department of Transportation
As a result of eight years of coordination and design, the interchange was open to traffic in October 2009, which is eight months ahead of schedule. Residents of Liberty Township now will see relief on their travels through the Liberty Way Interchange and the surrounding neighborhoods.
Cost Savings
In an effort to break ground as early as possible, the Liberty Way Interchange is a 100 percent locally funded project, having split the financing three ways:
- 49% = Liberty Township
- 36% = Butler County TID
- 15% = West Chester Township
As such, Rii went above and beyond to ensure that these funds were spent efficiently and wisely, while maintaining the design integrity of the project.
With the use of ground penetrating radar (GPR), Rii was able to evaluate the existing Liberty Way to preserve some of the existing pavement, thus saving the Butler County TID $0.50 million.
In addition, Rii was able to provide a cost savings of an additional $1.5 million to the TID by reconfiguring the interchange ramps in order to save the existing water tower.
Economic Advantages
The improvements opened up approximately 600 acres of local land for commercial development. Parcels surrounding the interchange have already been zoned for new amenities such as a hotel, medical facility, office space, and a lifestyle center. It has been predicted that 10,000 new jobs will generate $250 million in payroll by 2026. Not only did the interchange help ease the traffic flow in Liberty Township, but also it may have helped revive the economy.
Photo pulled from the Butler County TID's website.
Resource International, Inc.
Planning - Engineering - Construction Management - Technology