Two-way traffic returned to Fields-Ertel Road on Aug. 3, after crews shifted drivers onto freshly built pavement and lifted restrictions that had funneled commuters through a miles-long detour since June 1.
Symmes Township confirmed the switch in a civic alert posted the same day. The move marks the biggest visible milestone yet in the roughly $39.7 million joint Hamilton County–Warren County project to widen Fields-Ertel to five lanes with sidewalks between Snider Road and Wilkens Boulevard.
As we reported July 31, two separate shifts took effect:
- Cross Pond Drive to Snider Road: Traffic moved to the newly constructed roadway. Two-way travel is restored on this segment, which had been limited to eastbound-only for more than nine weeks.
- Snider Road to Wilkens Boulevard: Traffic shifted to the center of the new roadway so crews can build out the north and south edges. Two-way traffic remains.
The detour that routed southbound Snider Road and westbound Fields-Ertel traffic through Butler-Warren Road, Irwin-Simpson Road and back to Snider Road is now over. All driveway and subdivision access along the corridor stayed open during the switch.
What's still ahead
Construction is not finished.
Crews from the John R. Jurgensen Company, which holds both contracts, will continue work on the north and south sides of the Snider-to-Wilkens segment. No completion date for the full project has been announced.
The scope extends beyond the widening itself. The project covers Fields-Ertel Road from Cross Pond Drive to Escort Drive, Snider Road from Pinecove Court to Cross Meadow Drive, and Wilkens Boulevard from Fields-Ertel Road to Passport Drive. Work includes full-depth pavement replacement, new storm sewers, extended culverts and intersection improvements at Snider Road and Wilkens Boulevard.
According to a Warren County Engineer's Office press release issued May 18, the Warren County portion was bid at $18,611,588 and the Hamilton County portion at $21,074,365. Funding comes from federal Surface Transportation Block Grant dollars, a $5.94 million OKI grant, Ohio Public Works Commission grants and local contributions from Symmes Township Trustees, Deerfield Township Trustees and both county engineer offices.
Dominic Brigano, bridge engineer with the Warren County Engineer's Office, is the project's media contact. Residents can reach his office at (513) 695-3313 for questions about remaining work and timeline.
