Summary:
Its that time of year. Not just a time for shorts, sandals, and swimming, but also for that familiar rite of summer: area roadway construction projects.
The weather is warming, and as a result, the fluorescent orange cones marking construction projects are sprouting up like mushrooms along Ohio roadways. In the eastern portion of the state, Ohio Department of Transportation District 11 has 78 transportation projects that either are, or will soon be, underway. April 11 kicked off the 2011 construction season.
Six of those 78 projects are in Tuscarawas County, noted Becky Giaque, public information officer for District 11. Giaque and fellow ODOT representatives were present at the New Philadelphia ODOT office on April 13 to meet with local media representatives in an effort to keep area citizens informed of what to expect in the months ahead. The bulk of our program this year is focused on preservation of our current system, with resurfacing and bridge jobs, and culvert replacement.
In Tusc, we have the Stone Creek bridge job that will be finishing this year, we have a couple of bridge jobs on 212, and some resurfacing on 800 north of Mineral City to the Stark County line, continued Gique. The flooding this winter caused some issues, but as far as construction, that is not going to affect what we do this year. It creates maintenance issues; obviously, as our guys have to get out there and clean up debris and re-establish ditch lines. We had a lot of debris in both Tuscarawas and Holmes counties. We kicked off litter pick-up season in March, and we had more litter than ever because of the flooding.
The Stone Creek bridge project is scheduled to be fully complete by October 30, with estimated costs of 2.72 million dollars. Other Tuscarawas County projects will include resurfacing from Baltic to Dundee, and bridge replacements on Johnstown Road near New Cumberland, between Henderson School Road and New Cumberland Road, and on Trenton Avenue west of U.S. 250.
Christine Murgida, ODOT engineer, discussed the Bunker Hill project in Holmes County, at the busy County Road 77 and U.S. 62 juncture. Thousands of tourists pass through that dangerous intersection each year. It is also a vital passageway for local residents, including many Amish driven buggies. Unfortunately, the intersection has been the site of many accidents. The project will relocate C.R. 77 slightly to increase visibility by lowering the hill by twelve feet.
Fetchko, our contractor for that project, plans to return to work there on April 18 and start some drainage work. On the 25 of April plans call to start back up on the earth work, explained Murgida.
As C.R. 77 is relocated, there will be several phases of construction that will take place, including a closing of C.R. 77 south of U.S. 62 to connect it with the newly relocated C. R. 77 and C.R. 168 interchange.
We will do our best to always have that area passable, with at least one lane of traffic at all times, stated Lloyd MacAdam, district deputy director for ODOT. We know there will be delays, but we also know that is an important traffic area for locals and tourism alike. MacAdam also noted that the relocated road is requiring some relocation of local residents, but has found little opposition. They have all seen the many accidents that keep occurring there, year after year, and everyone agrees something needs to be done at Bunker Hill. ODOT estimates the Bunker Hill project to cost just over 3 million dollars, with plans calling for final paving, seeding, and project clean-up to be completed at the end of October.
According to ODOT statistics for 2010, there were 5,038 crashes in work zones and 1,909 individuals were injured in those crashes. Twelve people died as a result. With almost 700 projects statewide this year, officials are asking motorists to be especially cautious in construction zones. Following too closely, failure to control, and improper lane changes are the three top causes of work zone crashes.
