May 20 – By 2025, road improvements will again be the largest expense in the City of Lebanon Capital Improvement Plan, which the City Council is expected to approve in the coming weeks.
The five-year Capital Improvement Program, updated annually, is an important roadmap for developing the city’s annual budget and planning various infrastructure projects.
City Manager Scott Brunka said the 2025-2029 plan programs $23.4 million in 2025 spending, with $10.7 million allocated to road improvements. Other spending areas include $3.3 million for general capital improvements; $3 million in park projects; $1 million for stormwater systems; nearly $1.5 million for sewer systems; $1.6 million in water system work; and more than $2.2 million in improvements to the city’s electrical system.
Brunka said the city will “continue to aggressively pursue grant funding from the state and federal governments.” The city’s five-year plan includes $13.8 million in grants to support the planned projects.
The city maintains 140 miles of roadways and funding road improvements is an important goal of the city, according to Brunka. He said the city plans to spend an average of $9.6 million a year on roadwork over the next five years.
“The city’s ability to support this allocation of road improvement projects is highly dependent on successfully receiving state and federal grants,” Brunka said. “Ideally, roads should be rebuilt every 12 years, with road reconstruction in the 36 to 40 year period.”
The last time a road surface condition survey was conducted in the city was in 2021. Brunka said 68.3% of Lebanon’s roads were in good or better condition; about 17.8% were in fair condition; and 13.8% were in poor or worse condition. That was an improvement from 2013, when 50% of the city’s roads were in good or better condition; 15.2% were in good condition; and 34.8% were in poor or worse condition. Brunka said the next road surface condition survey will be completed in 2024.
Major road improvement projects planned for 2025 include the reconstruction and widening of Glosser Road to include a roundabout at Cincinnati Avenue; the third phase of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Urban Paving Program, a combined $3.45 million project to replace a water main, build a shared-use path and repaving North Broadway/Ohio 48; and the reconstruction of Park Avenue. Also in 2025, there will be $1.58 million for general street resurfacing and $1 million for curb, gutter and sidewalk replacement. The city will also continue engineering design work to widen Ohio 63, which will cost $400,000.
Brunka said other major capital projects include $2.3 million to replace Railroad Bridge 2.10 and for other track maintenance projects on the city-owned railroad.
The five-year plan includes $6.8 million for park improvement projects, including $2 million to support the Bowman Trail Loop by 2025, and $100,000 to build an outdoor climbing/playground on North Broadway. He said all trail projects should be supported through grants. The program also includes $900,000 to replace an existing restroom/concession stand at Colonial Park East, which will require a grant from the state.
Other major capital improvement expenditures planned for 2025 and beyond include: — Replacement of three police cruisers and one unmarked vehicle; to replace a dump truck, two mowers, a jet/piston truck, a pick-up, a skid steer loader and a fire brigade staff vehicle. — Allocating $1 million to install a new stormwater system on Glosser Road and address a drainage problem at other locations. — Various collection improvement projects and the development of a new master plan for the sewage system are planned for 2025. — Water system improvements include replacing old and undersized water lines with new 8-inch cast iron pipes on Ridge Road, Ridgewood Lane, Grandview Avenue, Crestview Drive and Park Avenue. – Electrical system improvements by 2025 will require the city to spend $300,000 to complete the substation project on Glosser Road; $1.1 million for distribution system improvements; and $500,000 to complete the AMI project. Another $9 million will be spent between 2027 and 2029 to build the Monroe Road substation replacement. – A new $13 million police/public safety facility to be designed in 2027 and constructed in 2028. The proposed new 22,000-square-foot facility will replace the current facility that was built in the 1960s.
Council members said they were pleased with the five-year plan and are expected to approve it in the coming weeks. Councilman Mike Cope said he “hopes the public understands the work (city) staff are doing to position the city” to obtain funding and plan these infrastructure projects.
Councilor Breighton Smith congratulated city staff on the proposed plan, adding that these were “good, solid local investments.”
