SHELBY – The beginning of August brought the beginning of a major repaving project in the city of Shelby.
Monday, Aug. 1 was the official starting date for the city’s Mansfield Aveenue repaving project. According to Project Coordinator Joe Gies, the reconstruction will take place in two parts.
“By the end of this year there will be curbs and sidewalks from Mansfield Avenue to Maxwell Drive,” Gies said. “Next spring they’ll take it from Maxwell Drive all the way out to Seneca Drive with the curbs and sidewalks. Then they’ll resurface everything.”
The entire project consists of new curbing, sidewalks, intersection improvements and pavement. The city of Shelby approved the plans for the project at their February meeting, and entered into an agreement with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) to serve as the lead agency for the project.
Originally, the Mansfield Avenue project was slated to begin this past spring. Gies explained there were administrative issues that pushed the starting date to Aug. 1.
“There was a lot of contract issues and a number of regulation issues that had to be taken care of,” he said. “It was kind of out of our hands.”
The later start date also means a later completion date, with construction forced to pause during the winter months. Weather permitting, all construction is expected to be complete by June 2017.
“With the weather and timing, this is all the choice they had,” Gies said.
In February, Gies reported the estimated cost of the Mansfield Avenue project was approximately $3.5 million, with the city responsible for paying an estimated $683,720. The cost is split 80/20 with ODOT; other funding comes from ODOT’s Urban Paving Program and a $2 million grant from Richland County Regional Planning.
Participation in the Urban Paving Program as well as the grant would not have been possible without Shelby citizens passing a five-year, 0.2-percent income tax levy in 2013. Without the passage of the income tax levy, the city would not have been able to leverage for grant and federal dollars and the Mansfield Avenue project would not have been possible.
Depending on the phase of construction, traffic will be reduced to one lane at times. Delays are expected. For more information on the Mansfield Avenue project, citizens can call the Engineering Department at 419-342-3600.
