Friday, June 17th, 2011
U.S. 127 work to continue this fall
By William Kincaid
CELINA - Roadwork will continue in the city this fall as a portion of U.S. 127 is resurfaced.
City council members this week approved the first reading of an ordinance to contract with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to resurface U.S. 127 from Celina's south corporation limit near Beaver Creek to Lake Shore Drive.
ODOT will pay for 80 percent of the project through its urban paving program funds while the city will pay the remaining 20 percent through its permissive tax fund, Celina Planning and Community Development Director Kent Bryan said.
Bryan said the project, initially estimated at $300,000, has been reduced. Therefore, Celina's cost drops from $60,000 to $46,200.
Three inches of the road will be milled off before new asphalt is applied, Bryan said. He said the work probably will begin after Labor Day weekend and should take one to two months.
Bryan also told council members he does not like the ordinance language provided by ODOT, which states the city agrees to assume and bear 100 percent of the entire cost of the improvement, less the amount of federal aid and state funds set aside by the director of transportation for financing of the improvement.
The language is unfair to communities and may be the result of ODOT's being burned by a city that didn't pay its full contribution for a project after the final costs went over the estimate, Bryan said.
Councilman June Scott asked if the city was between a rock-and-a-hard-place, as council members must pass the ordinance to receive 80 percent funding. Councilman Jeff Larmore said he felt better about the ordinance after reading the section that estimates the city's cost at $46,200.
Other upcoming construction projects in the city include:
• August - Replacement of water lines and curbs on East Market and West Livingston streets at a cost of $1 million, to be financed through tax increment financing (TIF), Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) funds and the city water fund. The project is scheduled for between Aug. 1 and Nov. 15.
• 2012 - Resurfacing East Market Street from Main to Enterprise streets at a cost of $400,000, to be financed through ODOT and OPWC.
• 2013 - Replacement of water lines and curbs on West Logan Street at a cost of $650,000, to be financed through OPWC and the city water fund.
• 2013 - Resurfacing of state Route 29 (Logan Street) at a cost of $200,000 to be financed through ODOT and TIF funds.
• 2014 - Resurfacing of West Logan Street from Main to Portland streets at a cost of $350,000, to be financed through ODOT and OPWC funds.
• 2015 - Resurfacing of state Route 197 on East Wayne Street from Main Street to Myers Road at a cost of $450,000, to be financed through ODOT and OPWC funds.
