Vandalia dealing with traffic issues near Dayton Airport, The fix will be costly

VANDALIA — The City of Vandalia and Montgomery County are dealing with some traffic problems around Dayton International Airport. It will be costly and take years to fix.

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There are several warehouses and distribution centers along Lightner Road and a lot of semi trucks cause congestions and delays. The city of Vandalia hopes this project will alleviate some of those issues.

“Commercial truck traffic has been an ongoing issue in the city of Vandalia that negatively effects our quality of life,” Dan Wendt, Vandalia City Manager, told News Center 7′s James Rider.

The work on Lightner, North Dixie and Northwoods will have trucks drive on the northside of the airport and not through downtown. Wendt tells Rider the developments have been a good thing but there’s issues they are still working to address.

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“With that commercial development, there are also problems that come with more collisions, more congestion, wear and tear on the roadways,” he said.

This is a regional project beyond Vandalia and the city is working with the both the county and politicians because the cost of improving and changing roads for semis is significant.

“We’re a small town with small town charm,” said Wendt.

The city just received more than $1 million to use on right of way land purchases but the full scope of the project will cost more than $18 million. This is why they are working with other jurisdictions to get the funding.

Construction is still a long way off potentially starting in 2026 or 2027.

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