Sidewalks coming to stretch of Colerain Avenue

Pedestrians on Colerain Avenue between Banning and Byrneside frequently walk on rutted paths to get to the grocery store or bus stops because of a lack of sidewalks.

A state grant is going to fix that.

Colerain Township has been awarded a grant from the Ohio Department of Transportation for $631,162 for construction of sidewalks in that area.

Colerain Township Assistant Administrator Geoff Milz says the township will spend no township money on the project, as it was awarded as 100 percent grant-funded.

"When I made the application it was my understanding that we would be required to put up a 10 percent match but our project was awarded such that 100 percent of the cost will be paid by the state," he said. "That was a surprise, but a good one."

Milz said it's so common for walkers to be on rutted footpaths that Google Maps shows a picture of a woman struggling to push a stroller through the area. "I included that photo with our grant application," he said.

Jaylen Johnson, 15, said he walks the section daily on his way to La Salle High School football practice from his home near Banning Road.

"It's rocky and bumpy. That makes it hard to walk over," the teen said. "And it's worse when it's wet because the mud makes it slippery."

The project won't cost the township any money, but it probably won't happen fast enough to improve Johnson's walk to school. ODOT will provide $41,419 to be used for preliminary engineering and environmental studies in 2018 and $20,400 in design funds and $103,230 in right-of-way acquisition funds in 2019.

Construction won't begin until 2021. The estimated construction cost is $466,113.

ODOT will be the project managers for this safety project and will oversee the design process.The grant was awarded in the spring funding round of ODOT's Highway Safety Improvement Program.

Brianne Hetzel, assistant traffic studies engineer with ODOT District 8, said ODOT districts and local governments submitted 34 projects worth more than $64 million in the spring application round for the highway safety grants.