City awards 2021 Road Repair Program

20-plus neighborhood streets to be improved and under budget

Mentor officials are being driven to find the best road construction deal.

Mentor City Manager Ken Filipiak indicated as much when City Council prepared to award its annual Road Repair Program for 2021.

“Somewhere around up to perhaps 10 percent is the benefit by not putting this out to bid during the height of the construction season, so that we get a lot of those bidders that are looking to fill up some work early in the year and getting a good-sized contract like this,” he said at the Feb. 2 meeting.

Council approved asphalt and concrete contracts for repairs and resurfacing on 22 neighborhood streets to Chagrin Valley Paving and A&J Cement of Euclid. Both had bids under the engineer’s project estimate.

Chagrin Valley won the bid with a $1.22 million price to repave 17 roads. The engineer’s opinion of probable cost was about $1.46 million.

This project will provide asphalt pavement resurfacing or asphalt overlay on all or portions of Becker Avenue, Brichford Road,

Carolyn Drive, Case Avenue, Demshar Drive, Edson Road, Garfield Road, Greenwood Drive, Headlands Road, Meadowbrook Drive, Milford Lane, Murray Avenue, Newton Drive, Old Heisley Road, W. Heisley Road, Garden Lane and Maiden Lane.

A&J Cement Contractors Inc. bid $630,817 — more than $4,000 under the engineer’s estimate.

This project will provide full-depth concrete repairs to portions of five city streets: Chase Drive, Farmingdale Lane, Jenther Drive, Tea Rose Drive and Wyant Drive.

“At approximately $1.4 million, the base 2021 Road Repair Program is very similar in size, scope and cost as compared to the last few annual road repair programs,” city Engineer Dave Swiger said.

“However, this year we did include a bid alternate for the resurfacing of Garden Lane and Maiden Lane, which added about $330,000 to the overall project cost, bringing the total bid to about $1.73 million.”

The resurfacing of Garden and Maiden was originally programmed in the Headlands Area Street Rehabilitation Project.

Altogether, the 2021 Road Repair Program with Garden and Maiden, totals about $1.93 million, he said.

The program is funded primarily through the city’s Street Fund. However, the Garden and Maiden work is being paid for via the Community Development Block Grant program.

Other road construction planned this year includes Chillicothe Road resurfacing at $1 million, the Lake Overlook Drive reconstruction at $920,000 and the Hopkins Road resurfacing, between Market Street and Mentor Avenue, at $775,000.

“The Hopkins Road resurfacing project will impact the largest number of vehicles per day based on an (average daily traffic) of 9,500,” Swiger said. “Twoway traffic will be maintained by flaggers. Regarding local motorists, the Lake Overlook reconstruction project might impact residents the most because of the scope of the work involving complete roadway reconstruction and periodic road closures.’

Average daily traffic on Lake Overlook is about 1,100 vehicles per day, he said.

In addition, City Council approved its annual agreement with Mentor-on-theLake to allow the smaller community to be part of the program bid, to take advantage of favorable pricing.

As usual, Mentor-on-theLake will provide its own inspection and will deposit funds with the city to cover its costs.

The communities have collaborated since 2016.

SUBMITTED This is Mentor’s 2021Comprehensive Roadway Plan, including streets that are part of the annual Road Repair Program.