by Laura Freeman
Reporter
Hudson -- Terex Road may not extend all the way to Boston Mills Road after all.
While City Council had previously discussed extending Terex Road, which now ends in a cul-de-sac just north of state Route 303, the city engineering department presented a different option for a connector between 303 and Boston Mills Road.
City Engineer Thom Sheridan told Council the Ohio Department of Transportation plans to extend Chittenden Road north to Boston Mills Road as part of its ongoing project to revamp state Route 8 through the area. ODOT has been working on the Route 8 project since 2007.
The project to extend Chittenden Road could begin in spring 2009, said Paula Putnam, ODOT spokesperson.
Chittenden would become a permanent connector between Route 303 and Boston Mills Road, allowing traffic to get around the construction on Route 8.
Council will decide whether to extend Terex Road at a future meeting.
However, a Sept. 9 workshop, most said they were opposed to spending money on extending Terex Road if there was an alternative.
Council in June approved the design for the extension of Terex Road by GPD Design for $67,756. Sheridan told Council Sept. 9 it would cost $630,431 to install a culvert required to extend the road.
An additional $2 million would be necessary to build the proposed 27-foot wide, 4,400-foot long asphalt road and 8-foot bike trail on one side of the road.
Almost three years ago, the city extended Terex Road, which previously went from state Route 91 northwest to state Route 303. The extension, less than 1/2-mile long on the north side of Route 303, runs through the empty Hudson Crossing Business Park and ends in a cul-de-sac.
The city proposed extending Terex Road through a wetland in 2003. They received a permit to do so from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but that permit expires in May 2009.
City Manager Anthony Bales said the permit would allow the city to install culverts, but a road would not be built until a future date.
Undeveloped property owned by Prestige Homes on Boston Mills would connect to Terex Road.
Council member George Roth wanted to extend Terex Road to make the Hudson Crossing property more valuable. He argued that Chittenden Road is in Boston Heights, not Hudson.
Council member Kristina Roegner supported the alternative of Chittenden Road as a connector.
"The city won't have to spend $2 million," Roegner said. "If the only benefit is to the developer, I'm against it."
E-mail: lfreeman@recordpub.com
Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3150