PROCTORVILLE – Residents and business owners with property bordering Ohio 7 in Proctorville will soon receive a letter detailing how much of their land might be purchased when construction begins on the addition of a third lane through the area.

Thursday, April 13, 2000

PROCTORVILLE – Residents and business owners with property bordering Ohio 7 in Proctorville will soon receive a letter detailing how much of their land might be purchased when construction begins on the addition of a third lane through the area.

"We will have to take slivers of land not the total land," said Holly Snedecor-Gray, Ohio Department of Transportation, district 9 public information officer. "Those property owners affected will be notified. They’ll get a letter in the mail before our first public meeting so they will know whether or not they will be impacted."

The first public meeting to discuss possible right-of-way acquisition and other residential and business concerns will be April 25, Mrs. Snedecor-Gray said.

"The basic premise of a public meeting is to gain public input regarding environmental issues along the corridor," Mrs. Snedecor-Gray said. "If someone knew where a hazardous material location we didn’t know about might be, they could bring that forth. We expect to receive input from the public meeting. It’s open to any comment. We don’t restrict comments."

The meeting will be in an open-house format from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. April 25 in the gymnasium of Fairland High School.

ODOT officials plan to add a third turning lane through the village to address safety and traffic congestion issues, said John F. Hagen, ODOT District 9 deputy director.

"The project is intended to serve a dual purpose," Hagen said. "The addition of the left-turn lane is anticipated to improve safety on Ohio 7 by reducing the number of accidents related to left turns, and the turn lane is also expected to improve traffic flow, especially during peak travel times, on this congested section of highway."

The congested traffic flow and other problems associated with this route caused the 1 1/3-mile section of Ohio 7 to be ranked in the top 100 high-accident locations on ODOT’s statewide Highway Safety Program listing from 1993-1995. In 1998, the latest Highway Safety Program listing, one location was still ranked at 131.

"Everyone is invited to come to the public meeting to learn more about the project and to submit oral and written comments about it," Hagen said. "ODOT environmental, planning, design and real estate officials and representatives from the project’s design consultant, Balke Engineers of Cincinnati, will be available to discuss the project and answer questions."

At the meeting, the public will have the opportunity to review, design, right-of-way and maintenance-of-traffic plans, as well as environmental information relating to cultural resources, ecological impact and hazardous material locations.

The project, which is scheduled to begin in the spring of 2002, will involve adding a 10-foot-wide center lane to Ohio 7 just east of the junction of Ohio 607 to the junction of Ohio 243 near the Lawrence County Fairgrounds.

The $3.5 million estimated for the project will also include the replacement of the existing asphalt pavement with new concrete pavement, the installation of new curbs and gutters throughout the project area, the installation of a new sidewalk on both sides of Ohio 7 through the Village of Proctorville, the installation of a new storm sewer system from the junction of Ohio 607 to just east of the junction of Ohio 775, the replacement of some water lines and the installation of new traffic signals at the junctions of Ohio 7 and Thomas Street and Ohio 7 and Ohio 775, Hagen said.