City OKs road work for spring

Projects totaling $1.7M will resurface parts of nine streets in projects held from 2020

Lorain’s Engineering Department is planning road repairs worth more than $1.7 million this year.

The city will use money from the Ohio Public Works Commission to resurface sections of nine streets.

The city Board of Control, made up of Mayor Jack Bradley and Safety-Service Director Sanford Washington, this month approved two contracts with Terminal Ready-Mix Inc.

The Lorain-based company was one of five bidders for each of the contracts, according to city records.

The city applied for the state money, but it was delayed in 2020 when the state of Ohio’s capital spending budget went on hold due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, said City Engineer Dale Vandersommen.

Usually, the city gets the money based on starting the state fiscal year on July 1.

That has caused the Engineering Department to seek bids in late summer, he said.

This year, the January timing for bids seemed to work in the city’s favor.

Then contractors rushed the work in the fall to beat the winter weather, Vandersommen said.

This year, the January timing for bids seemed to work in the city’s favor.

“That’s a good time to get good prices, for one, and the bids we got were decidedly below the engineer’s estimate,” Vandersommen said.

OPWC 34A

The project known as OPWC 34A Roadway Rehabilitation Project will pave:

• King Avenue from West 11th Street to West Erie Avenue

• West 26th Street from Ashland Avenue to Oberlin Avenue

• G Street from Colorado Avenue to Iowa Avenue

• West 35th Street from Palm Springs Drive to Ashland Avenue

The work will total $996,037, with a base bid of $905,488 and a 10 percent contingency cost of $90,548, according to city

records.

The engineer’s estimated cost was more than $1.11 million.

OPWC 34B

The project known as OPWC 34B Roadway Rehabilitation Project will pave:

• Redbud Place from its west cul-de-sac to Ashland Avenue

• Rosecrest Drive from its cul-de-sac to Edgewood Drive

• East 34th Street from Grove Avenue to Palm Avenue

• East 41st Street from Andover Avenue to Homewood Drive

• Lexington Avenue from West 32nd Street to West 33rd Street

The work will cost $785,232, which includes the base bid of $713,847 and the 10 percent contingency of $71,384.

The engineer’s estimated cost of $845,475.

Lorain’s municipal departments generally add the 10 percent contingency amount to cover unexpected costs that arise once public projects begin, officials say.

CITY OF LORAIN ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT This locator map shows the streets that will be paved as part of the city of Lorain’s OPWC 34A Roadway Rehabilitation Project, scheduled to start in spring 2021.