Motorists will have a chance to find out about current and proposed improvements to the Fields Ertel exit off Interstate 71 on Thursday night.
The meeting, at the Deerfield Township Trustees Room at 4900 Parkway Drive, includes a brief presentation and question-and-answer session at 6:30 p.m.
The traffic-clogged interchange at Fields Ertel and Mason-Montgomery roads near the border of southern Warren and northern Hamilton counties has long been a source of frustration for residents and commuters.
Funding for current and scheduled improvements has been secured, and motorists have already begun to see changes in the area, including a $1.6 million project that built an additional northbound lane from Fields Ertel to Parkway Drive and a $1.4 million project, which coordinated 22 traffic signals in the area.
Work will continue over the next several years.
“We are making phased improvements that will gradually and successfully address traffic issues in the Fields Ertel area,” said Neil Tunison, Warren County engineer.
Upcoming improvements to be detailed at the meeting include:
- Loop ramp construction that will allow northbound traffic on I-71 to bypass the Fields Ertel/Mason-Montgomery intersection and exit I-71 farther north of the existing interchange.
- A lane expansion at the northbound I-71 exit that will expand the exit lane and create more separation between freeway and exiting traffic.
- An additional right-turn lane onto Mason-Montgomery Road from the southbound I-71 exit.
- Access management improvements at Fields Ertel and Gregory Road
The interchange was constructed in the 1960s when the area was rural. Today it’s jammed with commerce – and traffic.
About 80,000 vehicles travel through the intersection of Mason-Montgomery and Fields Ertel roads each day, Tunison said.
The area is a key economic engine for Warren County. Within miles of the interchange are, among others: Procter & Gamble’s Mason Business Center, Deerfield Towne Center shopping center, Kings Automall and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center’s Mason campus.
Staff writer Paul McKibben contributed.
IF YOU GO
What: Public meeting for
Fields Ertel/Mason-Montgomery interchange project
When: 5-7 p.m. Thursday; a Q&A will be at 6:30 p.m.
Where: Deerfield Township Trustees Room, 4900 Parkway Drive, Suite 180, Deerfield Township
Information: 513-804-8033 or www.advancingfieldsertel.com
Posted in: Community, Deerfield Twp., Events, News, Traffic, Warren County |
