Clermont County officials said Monday that the State Route 32 expansion through Union Township is finished, with the last phase closing out in late September. Work under the project's banner had been proceeding since 2013.
The Glen-Este Withamsville overpass began carrying traffic in June, and crews made final adjustments in the fall, the county said.
County figures put the price at $200 million for a 4.5-mile stretch running from Bells Lane in Union Township to Oliver Branch Stonelick Road in Batavia Township. It formed one segment of the Ohio Department of Transportation's East Corridor effort.
According to the county, intersections that once used signals — at Eastgate Boulevard, Glen-Este Withamsville Road, Elick Lane, Old State Route 74, Bach Buxton Road and Olive Branch-Stonelick Road — have been rebuilt to ease backups and improve safety.
Commissioner David Painter told the outlet the corridor no longer produces the congestion it once did, describing smoother movement across Clermont County toward Hamilton County and on into Kentucky through 471. Shorter trips, he said, could draw workers who live in Hamilton County to Clermont County jobs, and the reverse. He called the completion one of the county's most significant developments.
Alex Elig, a sales consultant at Sims Furniture and Mattress in Union Township who grew up a few miles from the route, said his Eastgate commute has fallen from roughly 15 minutes to about 8. He recalled heavy stop-and-go conditions and crashes before the signal removals. Those drive-time figures are his personal account, not county data.