This summer, the City of Loveland will begin the largest infrastructure project to take place in over a decade: a multi-street infrastructure project along Main, South Wall, Hill, and Chestnut Streets.
The project scope includes replacing cast-iron water mains, repairing storm sewer drains, upgrading traffic signals, and resurfacing roads.
“Residents in the area have waited a long time for this project,” explained David Kennedy, Loveland City Manager. “This is the largest project of its scope since the city built its new water tower in the early 2000s.”
By cost, the major project component is the replacement of a 4-inch-diameter, cast-iron water main estimated to have been installed in the late 1800s. The new water main will be 8-inch ductile iron, which will improve fire flow rates and result in less water main breaks.
Additionally, the project aims to improve traffic and pedestrian safety. Between 2015 and the time of the funding application submittal in 2020, 19 vehicular accidents were reported at West Loveland/South Wall Street with injuries sustained in 42% of them.
Therefore, the traffic signals at West Loveland/South Wall, as well as Main/Loveland-Madeira Road, will be upgraded to detect vehicles by radar for traffic flow. They will also have GPS pre-emption for emergency vehicles. Traffic signal heads will be upgraded to larger and brighter LED lights for improved visibility. Pedestrian signals will be added.
“Traffic flow will be much smoother and safer through these intersections,” explained Cindy Klopfenstein, PE, CFM, Loveland City Engineer. “Residents can look forward to an easier traffic flow, thanks to the radar detection system that will be installed to replace the old loop detector technology.”
The traffic signals at West Loveland/Wall will be upgraded to decorative, antique-style poles and mast arms to replace the existing wooden poles and span wire. The finished look will match the streetscape of Downtown Loveland’s decorative black poles.
Existing and proposed traffic signal styles
The project also includes storm sewer repairs on Main Street and installation of two additional catch basins on Chestnut Street to help alleviate ponding on the roadways.
Ponding on Chestnut Street (July 2019)
Once the underground conduit for the traffic signals, water main, and storm sewer work is complete, the entire project area will be repaved. The total paving area encompasses 1.09 miles, which is in addition to the city’s annual road paving program. (The city invested $1,049,750 in the 2021 paving program to improve streets for residents.)
“We want to thank the residents of Main Street who have patiently watched our annual road paving program bypass their street year after year, as the city simply could not pave over water mains that were likely installed during President Theodore Roosevelt’s administration,” said Kennedy.
Condition of Main Street (Oct. 2020)
The total cost of this major project is $1,168,000, funded through the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) by combination of a 50% grant and a 50% zero-interest state loan. A contract was entered with the project’s lowest and best bidder, Ford Development Corporation, and was approved at the City Council meeting on July 14.
The project is expected to begin in early September 2021. A letter will be sent by US mail to residents and property owners in the area notifying them about the project. Click here to view the project map.
For more information about this project and other City of Loveland construction projects, please click here. For questions, please contact City Engineer Cindy Klopfenstein at (513) 683-0150.