Nearly $2M in road construction on tap

Nearly $2 million in road construction projects are planned for a Clark County bridge and area streets, closing a busy interstate connector for about a month.

The Clark County Engineer’s Office plans to make $1.28 million in improvements to Croft Road and a portion of East Home Road. In addition, about $400,000 in upgrades are needed for the deteriorating Spangler Road bridge.

Construction on the Spangler Road bridge, which is a connection for Interstate 675 and Ohio 571, is expected to begin in mid-summer 2014.

Clark County Engineer Johnathan Burr said the road will likely close for about a month, forcing the 9,700 motorists who drive it daily to use different routes.

“We’re going to do a deck overlay … blast the concrete and take the top few inches off of it and then re-pour a new deck on top of it,” Burr said, adding that guardrail and curb repairs will also be a part of the project.

“Once we do this, it will not have to be replaced for many, many years,” he said.

John and Sandra Garrity, who have lived near Spangler Road for about 26 years, said the bridge needs to be replaced.

Sandra Garrity said the bridge appears to be deteriorating as the re-bar or reinforcing bar is visible and chunks of concrete lay along the roadway.

“It looks like it’s getting to be a dangerous bridge,” Sandra Garrity said, adding that she noticed the deterioration last fall.

John Garrity said closing the road for a month will cause traffic headaches and will force them to drive five or six miles out of their way to Ohio 235 to get around the construction.

He also said it’s going to increase traffic in the morning and evening for people who are coming and going to work.

“The bridge does need to have some work done on it, but it’s going to be a major problem,” Sandra Garrity said.

The Clark County-Springfield Transportation Coordinating Committee secured $320,000 in federal funds for the Spangler Road project.

TCC Director Scott Schmid said Spangler Road has been reviewed multiple times for safety concerns and the current construction plans are for maintenance.

Schmid said Spangler Road near Lower Valley Pike is a heavily traveled area that has a couple of times been listed in safety studies among the county’s hot spots or hazardous roads.

“We’ve done a lot of work out there,” Schmid said.

But with the bridge project, he said, “We’re just taking care of what we have.”

Construction on a two-mile stretch of Croft Road and a portion of East Home Road is expected to begin in the summer of 2016. The Croft Road bridge over Beaver Creek was replaced last year for about $730,000.

The Croft Road bridge carries about 10,000 vehicles daily and is one of the county’s busiest bridges.

The new project in the area involves resurfacing East Home Road from the city of Springfield corporation limits to Croft Road and from Ohio 4 to Old Columbus Road.

Construction will include widening the shoulder of the roads and replacing the bridge deck and guardrail, Burr said.

About $990,000 of the project will be paid for with federal dollars secured by the TCC.

“We’re just keeping our roads and bridges in shape, keeping them up so that we can have full load capacity,” Burr said.

“We’ve got to due maintenance on this stuff, just like anything else,” he said. “You can not do maintenance, but it’s going to cost you in the long run.”

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