As we all know there are a number of big road projects in West Chester, two which require road closure and both of those directly impact Beckett Ridge!
The first is Beckett Road along the bike path and roadway between the fire station and Beckett Ridge Blvd with drainage improvements, resurfacing and modifying the crosswalk at Beckett Ridge Blvd. This project costs $1,407,770 and is being paid for out of the 747 TIF. Beckett Rd from Tylersville to West Chester Rd is a county road. The expected completion date is July 17, 2020.
The second is the roundabout at Beckett Ridge Blvd and Lesourdsville-West Chester Rds. This project costs $1,393,631
and is being paid for by federal grant money and the Butler County Engineers Office (BCEO). The federal money is a safety grant because it was demonstrated that there has been an increase in accidents over the last couple years. The expected completion date is August 13, 2020.
People are asking why the heck are we doing these projects at the same time? The answer is “they weren’t supposed to happen at the same time”. The Beckett Road project was supposed to happen in 2019, but when the area was surveyed prior to start, additional erosion had occurred making the project more complicated and more expensive. By the time the scope and planning of the new work was complete, the 2019 road work season was over and it was pushed into 2020.
The third project is the Tylersville Road widening project with additional westbound lanes, extending Doc Dr, adding the access drive (where Sunoco used to be) and signal modifications. The project costs $3,065,493 and is being paid for out of the Butler County VOA TIF. Remember – Tylersville Rd is a county road. The expected completion date is late August.
The fourth project is the Union Centre
Blvd DDI Interchange improvement that we’ve been talking about for a year. The DDI project cost$19,998,662 and is being paid for by the Union Centre Blvd TIF even though Union Centre Blvd and the bridge are owned by the county. The project is ahead of schedule due to reduced traffic from the COVID19 business closure and shelter-in-place order and is expected to be complete before July 31, 2020. The bridge deck will be CLOSED for four (4) days to finish the project. The exact closure dates will be publicized by BCEO and West Chester Township. The ramps will remain open during the deck closure.
West Chester has an amazing partnership with the Butler County Engineers Office, BCEO, that has resulted in a savings to West Chester taxpayers of nearly $4,000,000 over the past eight years, and additional savings of approximately $400,000 are anticipated in 2020 through shared services and utilizing TIF for eligible projects.
West Chester road maintenance is funded by property tax. The tax rate is 0.79 mills, or $24.19 per $100,000 valuation per year. To find out exactly what you pay for our roads per year, go to the Butler County Auditor website and look up your home value. If your home value is $200,000, then the portion of your property tax that goes to roads is $48.38. Not bad for great roads!
