WEST CHESTER, Ohio — If you're traveling through Butler County around I-75 and Route 129, be on the lookout for increasing orange barrels. Crews are working on a $24 million major overhaul of the interchange.
The key interchange in West Chester is in the middle of a complete reconfiguration to separate traffic on I-75 from traffic on 129. That means lane closures and intermittent highway closures on I-75 Thursday and Friday night.
Butler County engineer Greg Wilkens said his work is necessary to reduce the number of traffic crashes they were seeing at the interchange from drivers trying to cross back and forth from I-75 to 129. It's been a concern for the Butler County engineer's office and ODOT.
Tonight, look for lane closures in both directions on I-75 at the 129 Liberty Way interchange beginning at 8 p.m. The southbound I-75 ramp to Liberty Way will close at 10 p.m.
Friday night is when we'll see the 15-minute intermittent closures in the area of I-75 from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.
"We've got to set beams across the ramps and across 75 both,” Wilkens said. “We do not want to lift any beams over traffic. So, we'll have the full closure on the ramps and full closures on 75."
In addition to reducing accidents, Wilkens said, the work also increases capacity on the roads in an area seeing growth and development.
There will be a roundabout on Cox Road to connect traffic to 129. The entire project should be completed by fall 2022.
