Category Archives: Eastern Corridor

Brinkman’s Statement on Fate of the Eastern Corridor

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Regarding the news that the most offending parts of the Eastern Corridor Project have been eliminated, State Representative Tom Brinkman said

“I am so happy for the communities that had been threatened by this project that they finally got a reprieve.  I am honored that they trusted me to serve knowing that I would force this issue.  Special thanks to Speaker Cliff Roseburger and Senator Seitz who both worked hard helping bring this to a conclusion.”

Cincinnati Enquirer
6/4/15

Part of Eastern Corridor roadway plan killed

UNION TOWNSHIP The state has killed a controversial plan to relocate a major commuter route through parts of eastern Hamilton County – ending an arduous, years-long battle between residents and public officials.

The plan to re-route a part of Ohio 32 around Newtown and through historic land in Mariemont has been scrapped, state officials told The Enquirer on Thursday. Work will continue on other parts of the $1 billion Eastern Corridor project across eastern Hamilton and western Clermont counties, but eliminating a big chunk of the Ohio 32 relocation plan could untangle a bureaucratic mess.

“I’m elated,” Mariemont Mayor Dan Policastro said. “We’ve been saying for years (for the state) not to do this, and they finally did it. It’s going to work out for everybody.”

The Eastern Corridor is designed to improve access and alleviate congestion with roadway improvements, a new highway interchange, bike lanes and passenger rail. It has been on the drawing boards since the 1970s, and many phases have failed to move forward because of a lack of consensus and money.

Thursday’s news was a long-time coming for residents of Mariemont and Newtown, but the roadway relocation plan isn’t officially dead just yet. The state, which has spent at least $14 million planning the Ohio 32 relocation, still is beholden to a federal process that requires more time and paperwork. Ohio Department of Transportation officials say the process could be complete by the end of this month.

“This is great news, but it’s almost like you have to get the coroner involved to make sure it’s really dead,” Newtown Mayor Curt Cosby said.

State officials broke the news to community leaders, politicians and transportation planners during a closed-door meeting Thursday morning in Eastgate. It was the first major meeting about the Ohio 32 relocation since a state-hired mediator released a damning report in November.

The report revealed the utter frustration of Mariemont and Newtown residents – showing the project was plagued by government mistrust, accusations of hidden agendas and disagreements about the merits of the Ohio 32 relocation plan.

Many had long questioned the merits of spending up to $277 million on relocating Ohio 32, considering the Western Hills Viaduct and Brent Spence Bridge need to be replaced. The mediator’s findings gave extra ammunition for opponents of the roadway relocation.

Hamilton County Commissioners Greg Hartmann and Chris Monzel have opposed the project, and state Rep. Tom Brinkman tried to kill that part of the Eastern Corridor in the Legislature earlier this year. Brinkman’s efforts helped establish a do-or-die deadline of Dec. 31 on the plan to relocate Ohio 32 through Mariemont and Newtown.

“I’m pleased for the people who were going to be in harm’s way, and I’m happy that I was able to force a conclusion,” said Brinkman, a Mount Lookout Republican.

Mariemont loathed the plan because the roadway would have cut through the South 80 park, which residents use to plant gardens and for recreational activities. Newtown feared a new bypass would cripple the village’s small business district and deplete its tax base.

The mediation process helped guide ODOT’s call.

“They really cared about what we had to say,” Policastro said.

The state will consider minor congestion-relief improvements to Ohio 32 through Newtown and U.S. 50 in Mariemont. Those could include different road striping patterns and new traffic lights with prioritization technology.

The state also will continue to look at expanding Ohio 32 east of Newtown in Anderson Township near the border of Hamilton and Clermont counties.

The controversy over the Ohio 32 relocation created a negative perception of the entire Easter Corridor, Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said. He now hopes the criticism will stop.

“The Eastern Corridor program is more than the relocation of State Route 32, but in the minds of the public, that’s what it became,” Portune said. “This provides some real clarity as to where this is going.”

Others aren’t so sure. Many also have questioned the merits of a plan for a passenger rail from Downtown to Clermont County. Ridership projections have been low, and the rail line has a $230 million to $323 million price tag. The state has spent $4.4 million on the railway.

“It would be a waste of taxpayer dollars,” Monzel said.

Click here to read the article on Cincinnati.com.

Governor Signs Transportation Budget, Eastern Corridor’s Are Days Numbered

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This week Ohio Governor John Kasich signed the $7 billion biannual Transportation Budget that funds statewide transportation-related projects.  Included in that budget was a provision, inserted by State Rep. Tom Brinkman, requiring a deadline for action on the Eastern Corridor project by the end of the year.

The statement below was issued by Rep. Brinkman’s statehouse office and provided here as a courtesy to our supporters:

 

Rep. Brinkman Applauds Governor Kasich’s Signing of Transportation Budget
House Bill 53 includes provision related to Eastern Corridor highway project

COLUMBUS—State Representative Tom Brinkman (R-Mt. Lookout) today applauded Governor Kasich’s signing of House Bill 53, the state transportation budget.

The final bill included a provision submitted by Rep. Brinkman related to a construction project on the Eastern Corridor. Specifically, HB 53 requires the Director of Transportation to submit written notice to the Ohio House and Senate regarding the recommended preferred alignment of the connector between Red Bank Road and Bells Lane, otherwise known as the “Eastern Corridor.”

The provision offered by Rep. Brinkman that became part of the final version of the bill, includes a strict deadline for the Director’s written notice, which is to be submitted by the end of this year.

“I am encouraged that the governor signed this bill that includes a strict timeline for the Department of Transportation to make a decision on the Eastern Corridor project,” Brinkman said.

Gov. Kasich signed the transportation budget Wednesday morning at Daifuku America Corporation in Reynoldsburg, a suburb east of Columbus. The bill provides funding for about 1,600 infrastructure projects statewide.

Halt Eastern Corridor Project to Protect History

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The following opinion piece appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer on Friday, March 13, 2015.

Halt Eastern Corridor Project to Protect History

Kenneth Barnett Tankersley is an archaeological geologist at the University of Cincinnati and an enrolled member of the Piqua Shawnee tribe.

I applaud state Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr.’s sponsored legislation, which will use funding from the last phase of the Eastern Corridor project to replace and repair decaying road infrastructures such as the Western Hills Viaduct in Hamilton County. At the same time, the Mount Lookout Republican’s legislation will ensure that internationally and nationally significant historic and prehistoric sites in the villages of Mariemont, Newtown and Anderson Township will be preserved for many future generations of American citizens.

I applaud state Rep. Tom Brinkman Jr.’s sponsored legislation, which will use funding from the last phase of the Eastern Corridor project

Mary Emery built the village of Mariemont upon the foundation of historic preservation. Today, it is a National Historic Landmark District, which extends from the banks of the Little Miami River to its boarders with Madison Place, Fairfax and Plainville. Within Mariemont are the American Indian Embankment and Village sites, which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

A similar situation exists in the village of Newtown, which includes the William Edwards Farmhouse, an American Indian burial mound in Odd Fellows Cemetery, and the American Indian Perin Village site, all of which are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. On Newtown’s southern border is the Hahn Field Archaeological District in Anderson Township. All of these locations are federally recognized as significant historic and prehistoric sites and they are currently threatened with destruction from the Eastern Corridor.

To further complicate this issue, new archaeological discoveries have been made in the past few weeks in Mariemont and Newtown including two previously unreported American Indian burial sites and three American Indian habitation sites. Four of these sites were discovered in Mariemont’s Lower 80 Park and the other was serendipitously found in Newtown while putting in a buried fiber-optic cable. All of them are currently in the direct path of the Eastern Corridor. These sites are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the significant historic and prehistoric sites, which are buried beneath the surface in the Little Miami River valley.

When Hamilton County Commissioner Todd Portune said, “I am grateful to the Southwest Ohio House delegation that came together in response to a threat to the program and gave it new life and a way to cut through the red tape,” he is asking American citizens to ignore federal historic preservation and environmental protection laws. Highway projects such as the Eastern Corridor are required to work in compliance of Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act and the much more powerful National Environmental Policy Act.

The purpose of NEPA is to protect our environment. In addition to protecting endangered species and historic and prehistoric sites, it also protects the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the soil we use to grow food. NEPA requires government agencies, such as the Ohio Department Of Transportation, to give proper consideration to the impact highways have on our cultural and natural environment. Currently, ODOT is trying to write in language that would allow them to take over the NEPA process for the completion of the Eastern Corridor. As a fellow concerned citizen recently said, this situation would allow the fox to guard the henhouse.