BATAVIA, Ohio — A 13-year, $200 million highway expansion that county officials call the largest public works project in Clermont County in 50 years is complete, with the final ramp connecting State Route 32 to Glen Este-Withamsville Road now open to traffic.
The ramp’s opening late last month marked the final phase of work along a 4.5-mile stretch of SR 32 between Bells Lane in Union Township and Olive Branch-Stonelick Road in Batavia Township, according to the county. The corridor, part of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Eastern Corridor initiative, was widened and reconfigured to handle traffic growth projected over the next 20 years.
“This project has been transformative,” Kris McClintick, Clermont County’s economic development director, said in a statement. “Improving access, safety and connectivity along SR 32 have encouraged significant new private investment in the central part of the county. Purina’s new manufacturing facility, residential development and investments by other companies east of Batavia toward Williamsburg are proof.”
There was no ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the end of major construction, but the county said the positive economic momentum along the corridor began soon after work got underway and has continued to accelerate.
“The improvements have made it faster and easier to move people, products and resources,” Clermont County Commissioner David L. Painter said in a statement. “Transportation is not simply about building and improving roads — it’s about building opportunities for our families and businesses.”
The project eliminated traffic signals that once marked at-grade intersections connecting SR 32 directly to Eastgate Boulevard, Glen Este-Withamsville Road, Elick Lane, Old SR 74, Bach Buxton Road and Olive Branch-Stonelick Road, according to the county. Those intersections were frequently congested and common sites of crashes before the work began. Over the past decade, they have been replaced with overpasses featuring elevated entrance and exit ramps, improving visibility and traffic flow, the county said.
A trip that used to take at least 25 minutes on a good day now takes less than 10 minutes, according to the county.
“It’s been a game changer,” Joe Abner, deputy district director for U.S. Rep. David Taylor’s Eastgate office, said in a statement. The distance covered by the project is relatively short, he added, but its impact has been significant.
In total, the corridor overhaul consisted of 11 distinct projects — nine managed by ODOT and two by the Clermont County Transportation Improvement District — beginning in 2013 with the reconfiguration of the I-275/SR 32 interchange, according to the county. The final piece, the Glen Este-Withamsville Road overpass, ran from 2023 to 2026 at an estimated construction cost of $30 million. The single largest component, the Bach Buxton Road overpass and Elick Lane realignment, cost an estimated $42.5 million and was completed this year.
The OKI Regional Council of Governments, the region’s metropolitan planning agency, championed the project in its early planning stages and directed federal funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation to ODOT, according to the county. Officials described it as the largest transportation infrastructure improvement in Clermont County since the I-275 loop around Greater Cincinnati was completed in the 1970s.
“OKI is proud to support Clermont County’s vision for the SR 32 corridor,” OKI CEO Mark Policinski said in a statement. “We look forward to the continued benefits this investment will bring to residents, businesses and the regional transportation network.”
The information contained in this story was obtained from Clermont County government.