Friday, July 6th, 2007
Contract approved to widen county road
By Timothy Cox
The entire stretch of Fort Recovery-Minster Road between the village of Fort Recovery and state Route 118 will be widened later this summer.
Mercer County Commissioners on Thursday awarded a contract to Sutter Excavation, Celina, for $318,878 after inking a separate grant agreement with the Ohio Public Works Commission that will pay for $296,170 of the project.
Sutter was the lowest of three bids that were opened in May. County officials held off awarding a contract until the OPWC grant was approved.
The local balance of the project will be paid through Mercer County Engineer Jim Wiechart's budget, which is drawn mostly from local shares of gasoline taxes.
The existing pavement is fairly narrow but also heavily traveled so the widening should improve safety along the stretch of county road, Commissioner Bob Nuding said.
The widening will increase the width of the pavement to 25 feet with an additional 6 feet of shoulder. The road runs 7.37 miles between the village and the state highway.
The work will be completed later this summer and early this fall.