Urbana utility projects near completion; curb and gutter projects to start; Scioto Street scheduled for resurfacing later this summer

At a glance: Curb and gutter projects to start, Scioto Street scheduled for resurfacing later this summer

From Urbana Daily Citizen

The summer construction season continues in earnest within the City of Urbana.

On Monday, June 14, two new construction projects, the Freeman Avenue Improvements Project and the Scioto Street Curb and Gutter Improvements Project, are scheduled to start.

In addition, the Powell to Bon Air Sanitary Sewer Project was completed earlier this spring, and the Phase 2A Water and Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project is nearing completion.

Later this summer, Scioto Street is scheduled to be resurfaced under a separate Ohio Department of Transportation project from Locust Street to the US 36/SR 29 split.

The Freeman Avenue Improvements Project involves the replacement of select sidewalks, all drive approaches and all curb and gutter on Freeman Avenue between Miami Street and Union Alley. Curb ramps at intersections will also be updated. Finally, the street will be milled and paved along its entire length. J&J Schlaegel, Inc. is the project contractor, and the concrete flatwork will be completed by their subcontractor, Oglesby Construction, Inc. The paving will be subcontracted to Wagner Paving, Inc.

The total cost of this project is $193,886.50.

The city has successfully obtained Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding, administered through the Champaign County Commissioners, in the amount of $136,000. In addition, the remaining local match funding of $57,886.50 will come from the city’s Capital Improvement Fund and will pay for curb ramp installation and paving. The contractor anticipates that the project will start on Monday, June 14 with all work to be substantially completed on or before Friday, July 30.

During the work on Freeman Avenue, some areas will have on street parking restricted. The contractor will be working on one side of Freeman Avenue at a time. Due to width constraints, the city and contractor have opted to make Freeman Avenue a northbound, one-way street during the project with appropriate signing. This temporary change will reduce vehicular conflict points during ongoing construction.

In addition to the project on Freeman Avenue, a separate project to replace the curb and gutter along Scioto Street between Locust Street and East Lawn Avenue/Patrick Avenue is scheduled to start on Monday, June 14. M&T Excavating LLC is the project contractor, and the concrete flatwork will be completed by their subcontractor, Oglesby Construction, Inc. Completion of this project is anticipated in July. This project is under contract for $250,239.74, and this project is being completed after a resolution of necessity was passed by Urbana City Council to require that property owners replace curb and gutter within this project area. Traffic will be maintained on Scioto Street during the curb and gutter replacement project, but some on street parking will be restricted.

Earlier this spring, the Powell to Bon Air Sanitary Sewer Project was completed. This project commenced in October of 2020 and involved the installation of a new sanitary sewer main between Bon Air Drive and the Champaign County Fairgrounds. This $834,863.05 project came in under the original contract amount with the project being funded through a grant and a no-interest loan obtained through the Ohio Public Works Commission. This project addressed a bottleneck/capacity issue within the city’s sanitary sewer system and extended sanitary sewer service into an unsewered area.

The Phase 2A Water and Sanitary Sewer Replacement Project is anticipated to be completed on or before the original project completion date of June 26. This project commenced in August of 2020 and involved the replacement of the sanitary sewer main from Jefferson Avenue to Bon Air Drive.

In addition, water main replacement was completed on Scioto Street from Jefferson Avenue to Berwick Drive; Crescent Drive between Ames Avenue and Finch Street; Ames Avenue between Scioto Street and Amherst Drive; and Finch Street between Scioto Street and Amherst Drive. This $1.786 million project is being funded by low interest loans obtained from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency for the water portion and the Ohio Water Development Authority for the sanitary sewer portion. All utility work on the project is now complete, and the contractor is working to complete restoration and punch list work items.

Later this summer, Scioto Street between Locust Street and the US 36/SR 29 split will be resurfaced under a separate contract through the Ohio Department of Transportation. The resurfacing project for Scioto Street is funded with 80% federal funding through ODOT’s Urban Resurfacing Program and a 20% local match of $123,984.