Marysville officials are applying for money to replace the Fourth Street bridge over the Town Run, between Walnut and Plum streets. The bridge was built in 1948 and was expected to last 50 year. (Photo submitted)
The city has received funding for one infrastructure project and is looking to secure funding for another.
Marysville City Engineer Jeremy Hoyt recently announced the city was awarded $2 million from the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Small City Program to help finish the Route 31 widening project. Officials are applying for $500,000 from the Ohio Public Works Commission to replace the Fourth Street bridge over Town Run. The project is expected to cost about $1.08 million with the local share for the project at $583,076.
The bridge between North Walnut and Plum streets was built in 1948. Hoyt said the bridge has been added to and expanded several times. At the time it was built, the bridge had a projected useful life of 50 years.
Hoyt said this bridge has been on ODOT’s list to replace for some time.
He said the current sandstone and mortar infrastructure is deteriorating. It will be replaced with steel reinforced concrete. The existing roadway and sidewalk widths will not change.
Hoyt said he believes the street will be closed during construction, but that has not been decided.
“We have not run through that for sure,” Hoyt said. “We have done the preliminary analysis on the bridge, but we have not started to do any real engineering work on that yet.”
City officials said they believe Union County will receive a total of $1 million in OPWC funds this year and feel confident their request will be approved.
Hoyt said he anticipates the Fourth Street bridge will cost less than $1 million. Additional funds will be used to design the replacement of a bridge on Walnut Street that also crosses the Town Run.
Officials anticipate work on the Fourth Street bridge over Town Run will begin in 2021 and be complete in 2022.
Hoyt said he knows that feels like a long time, but there is a lot of work to be done before then.
He is urging patience with both the Fourth Street bridge and Route 31 projects.
“We are really excited about this,” Hoyt said of the Route 31 funding, adding that when he learned the city had been awarded the grant, he actually interrupted a meeting to tell other city officials.
He said the small city grant program, “has been a very valuable funding source for the city.”
Including the new grant, the program has contributed more than $5.4 million to the project, about 51.4% of the total cost. The Ohio Public Works Commission has contributed $1.05 million to the $10.54 million project. The city has been responsible to cover the remaining nearly $4.7 million.
The city is currently working on the second phase of the project which includes relocation and realignment of the westbound U.S. 33 ramp, extension of both Northwoods Drive and Cobblestone Way and construction of a mini roundabout. Hoyt said the second phase also includes the addition of mast arm traffic signals, concrete curb, sidewalk on one side of the street and an asphalt shared use path to help, “convert this more into urban streets, more walkable and more aesthetically pleasing.”
The project’s first phase primarily included the construction of an additional northbound and southbound lane on Route 31 from Mill Road to Millwood Boulevard.
The third phase will include the construction of an additional southbound lane on Route 31 from the U.S. 33 bridge to Amrine-Mill Road as well as the reconfiguration of the Elwood Avenue/Maple Street intersection. The city will continue the addition of mast arm traffic signals, concrete curbs, sidewalks and the asphalt shared use path.
Hoyt said that when school is in session, the intersection “really backs up.” He said the project will “help deal with some of that pressure.”
The engineer said that because the city is still working on the project’s second phase, the third phase will likely not begin until 2024.
The foundation of the Fourth Street bridge over Town Run, shown above, is crumbling, according to city officials. The city reportedly tried to use concrete to repair the bridge in the 1980’s. (Photo submitted)