The Delaware County commissioners are expected to vote Aug. 6 on a proposal to join private developers to conduct a study to improve the interchange at U.S. Route 36 and Interstate 71.

The county would contribute up to $40,000 for the study, said county economic development director Gus Comstock.

The money will come from a revolving loan fund using grant money received through the Community Development Block Grant program. Block grants are used to increase the economic base of the county or increase employment opportunities, he said.

The study is expected to cost $120,000 and at least two developers will pay the remainder, he said.

Improvements at the interchange, which is currently rated as "failing" by the Ohio Department of Transportation, are key to bringing new businesses to that area, Comstock said.

When county officials learned that at least two developers were considering major projects at the interchange, they brought all the parties involved -- ODOT, developers, area businesses, stakeholders and elected officials -- together to look for ways to come up with the best plan possible, Comstock said.

"The county has a vested interest in that interchange and needs a seat at the table," he said. Putting money into an independent study is a way to secure that seat, he said.

"That intersection is inadequate and unsafe. ... It is past time when something is done there," said commission vice president Ken O'Brien at the July 27 meeting, when the resolution to participate in the study was introduced.

"There are many great ideas on the table (for projects at the interchange)," said commissioner Todd Hanks. "These are exciting times. ... All the economic indicators say now is the time to go forward."

County engineer Chris Bauserman will oversee the study, which will be bid out to a private engineering firm. Comstock said he expects the study to be completed this year, if the commissioners approve the money.

"Our greatest hope is that at least one of the developers will have enough confidence in the economy to move forward and we will have a plan in place to get to ODOT for approval," he said.

ODOT also is looking at ways to improve the interchange and is putting together a safety improvement project, said Nancy Burton, spokesperson for ODOT's District Six, which includes Delaware County.

ODOT is waiting on certified traffic projections for the interchange 20 years out, beginning in 2012, before going to the final design stage, she said.

The plan is to make changes that will reduce the number of rear-end crashes on I-71 when traffic backs up on the exit ramps, and on U.S. 36 from vehicles entering and exiting businesses in that area.

Proposed improvements would add additional turn lanes on U.S. 36 and re-stripe the lanes over the bridge. Some driveway entrances and exits to businesses would be changed to prevent angle crashes. On I-71, the exit lanes would be lengthened to prevent traffic backups in the travel lanes, Burton said.

The public hearing on the study resolution begins at 9:45 a.m. on Aug. 6.