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The Springfield News-Sun is committed to providing unmatched coverage of local government. For this story, the newspaper spoke to city officials about major construction projects expected to take place throughout the spring and summer.
By the numbers:
$1.3 million — Anticipated cost of Snyder Park Bridge project
$2.45 million — Anticipated cost of street repair projects this summer
$2.6 million — State and federal money to reconstruct Veteran’s Bridge
The city of Springfield is planning to complete nearly $6.5 million in construction projects this year, including two major bridge projects and numerous summer street repairs.
Costs will be split between the city and state and federal agencies.
Most of an estimated $2.45 million in street repairs will begin in June and be completed by around September, said Leo Shanayda, city engineer for Springfield.
Construction is already underway for a roughly $1.3 million bridge being built in Snyder Park, as well as a $2.6 million project to reconstruct Veteran’s Bridge on North Fountain Avenue.
The city is using state and federal money to reconstruct Veteran’s Bridge, a project that is expected to be finished in November. The bridge at Snyder Park, which will allow construction vehicles access into the park for work on the $16 million Erie Express Sewer Project, is expected to be complete by the end of June, Shanayda said.
In 2013, the city finalized a $1.2 million streetscape project as well as a two-way street conversion project on North Fountain Avenue as part of an effort to revitalize downtown.
The Veteran’s Bridge project will include new stairs leading down to the nearby bike path, and will add new lighting, as well as plazas at the northwest and southeast corners of the bridge. The project will not only honor local veterans, but it will tie in the North Fountain Avenue streetscape to the south side of Buck Creek, Shanayda said.
“It’s enhancing the trail system from the bridge access,” he said.
The city’s 2015 street projects will be paid for through agreements with the city, the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Public Works Commission, Shanayda said. They include:
•Belmont Avenue from Main Street to Lagonda Avenue
•Lagonda Avenue from Columbia Street to Main Street
•Birch Road from Sheridan Avenue to Kenton Street
•Bechtle Avenue from North Street to the Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks
•Clifton Avenue from East Grand Avenue to East John Street
•South Western Avenue from West Pleasant Street to West Main Street
•West First Street from Bechtle Avenue to Hillcrest Avenue
•Water Street from Mount Vernon Avenue to East Main Street
•East Grand Avenue from Clifton Avenue to South Limestone Street
ODOT will pay $1.6 million of the costs for the street repairs, Shanayda said, while the Public Works Commission will pay about $250,000. The city will pick up the remaining $600,000 of the tab, he added.
In addition to those projects, the city and ODOT are partnering on a separate project that will repave North Limestone Street from Second Street to Home Road at an estimated cost of $383,000. ODOT will pay about $307,000 of that project, while the city will pick up the tab for the remaining $76,000.
The city will also work on a roughly $600,000 project this summer to replace a water main and sewer on Grand Avenue from Limestone Street to Clifton Avenue, as well as repaving that section of road. This project will begin in July, and is expected to be finished between mid-October and November.
The cost of the projects the city completes each year fluctuates depending on what grants are available and what projects need to be completed, Shanayda said. Because of how ODOT funding works, city officials typically determine what streets to pave well in advance, he added.
“These roadways were determined three or four years ago,” Shanayda said.
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