A high-priority sidewalk project along Paddison Road has been awarded a $723,000 grant, which will fund construction for another key north-south connection to the township’s network of hike and bike trails.
The OKI Regional Council of Governments just announced the federal Transportation Alternatives Project Grant awarded for Paddison Road, one of the largest grants the township has received. This proposed one-half mile link would connect Bluecrest Drive to Beechmont Avenue, including numerous subdivisions and more than 2,000 homes in an area that is often inaccessible for pedestrians.
The township has a substantial track record with these OKI grants, noted Steve Sievers, assistant administrator for operations. Over the past two decades, Anderson has benefitted from more than $12 million in enhancement grants from the organization, including projects like the Five Mile, Ohio River, and Little Miami Trails; sidewalks on State, Nagel, Asbury, and Wolfangel roads; and the recently completed Downtown Anderson project on Beechmont Avenue.
According to Planner Tom Caruso, construction of the link is planned for 2022. In 2016, Anderson paid for preliminary design work for the project and determined the cost was too high for the township to undertake the project. Paddison Road’s hilly terrain requires expensive storm drainage improvements, grading and possible retaining walls.
“The cost of this project made it prohibitive without outside assistance,” said Trustee President Josh Gerth. “Otherwise, this would have consumed the township’s trail budget for several years, stalling projects and other key safety improvements in other parts of the community,” he added.
The sidewalk will provide a non-motorized mode of transportation to numerous destinations in the township, including Sherwood Elementary School, the Five Mile Trail, the Anderson Branch Library, and the Anderson Towne Center, Caruso said. Anderson will pick up 20 percent of the cost of the project, plus associated costs for right of way procurement and design fees.
This project has been the highest priority project in the Anderson Trails Plan for several years, a document last updated earlier this year by the township’s volunteer members of the Transportation Advisory Committee.
“It is important that our staff and administrators try to make sure that they bring federal tax dollars back to Anderson Township,” said Trustee Vice President Andrew Pappas. “This is a case where they have had another big success.”