‘Great momentum’: New exit likely being added to I-75

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WDTN) — Around the end of the decade, drivers traveling through southwest Ohio on I-75 will likely witness history.

Just south of the I-75 rest area in Monroe, a major construction project is anticipated to convert the Millikin Road overpass into an interchange. The change would create Exit 26, a new exit on I-75 in Liberty Township.

Caroline McKinney, township administrator for Liberty Township, told WDTN.com that the township is working with the Butler County Transportation Improvement District and Ohio Department of Transportation to create a new interchange.

“The Milliken interchange will open up about 700 acres for commercial development,” said McKinney. “It will also alleviate some traffic in the area.”

State Senator George Lang (R-West Chester) announced in June the Ohio Senate’s passage of $8.5 million for the project. House Bill 2, which included the project’s funding was approved in the state’s capital budget.

“His willingness to bring focus to this important initiative brings us that much closer to making it a reality,” said Dan Corey, director of BCTID. “The funds approved by the state Senate will be used to advance this project through the Final Design Phase and on into Construction.”

Corey confirmed the project still sits in an early stage, but has already come a long way. He also told 2 NEWS that Liberty Twp. created the idea more than 10 years ago.

“Currently, we are in the environmental engineering phase of the project, which should be completed later this year,” said Corey. “Next, we’ll move into the final design phase and then into construction, once funding has been secured.”

2 NEWS obtained a preliminary potential construction image from MKSK, a planning, urban design and landscape architecture company.

Since Exit 26 would be just south of Monroe, the geographical middle point between Cincinnati and Dayton, it would create the possibility for new jobs, but also assist with traffic.

“So what it means to, I think residents of Dayton and Cincinnati, you know, a future employment area, again, that will help alleviate some of the traffic congestion that we see kind of to the south here in Liberty,” McKinney said. “But I think what it will do, again, is just open up some acreage and some opportunities for for development.”

The new exit could potentially be the last interchange addition between Cincinnati and Dayton.

“I think if you look on a map, you know, quite possibly Milliken is kind of that last interchange that gets built in between Cincinnati and Dayton,” said McKinney. “As we’ve seen these two metro areas kind of grow, you know, kind of together as we’ve seen development happen in between.”

McKinney said construction could occur as soon as 2029. Before any finalizations are made, ODOT has to conduct their own action, since it is such a large project.

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