Road resurfacing work is expected to begin next month in parts of Hamilton County using money from the gas tax which rose last July. Acting County Engineer Eric Beck says his budget is increasing from approximately $2 million to $4 million. That will allow the department to double the number of roads paved last year.
"We'll bid two contracts for resurfacing and split it in half, each about $2 million, and stagger them a little bit so that we're not impacting all of our roads at the same time. But the paving itself shouldn't take more than a few weeks each time, weather dependent."
Beck says the first contract will repave portions of Harrison Avenue, and that his office is also looking at West Kemper and Crest Road, which he calls "some of the poorer condition roads we have."
Ohio's gas tax rose 10.5 cents per gallon in July 2019. Overall, Hamilton County's townships, villages and cities are estimated to receive more than $32 million from the gas tax this year, up from roughly $19.2 million in 2019.
Every county engineer receives the same amount from the gas tax, according to the Ohio Department of Transportation. Beck's office is responsible for approximately 1,200 lane miles that make up county roads. His office is not responsible for state or township roads.
