Franklin County plans $6.3M in annual road resurfacing work
The Franklin County Engineer’s office is planning to resurface nearly 37 miles of roads this year, in addition to other roadway and bridge projects set to begin this summer.
The total includes about 18 miles on 16 different Franklin County roads being resurfaced at a cost of about $3 million, said W. Fritz Crosier, chief deputy of engineering for the county.
The county is also finalizing plans for resurfacing and other improvements to about 19 miles of roads in 11 townships in the county at a cost of about $3.3 million.
The road and bridge work is funded by motor vehicle registration fees, which provide more than $30 million annually for local projects.
The engineer’s office is responsible for maintaining about 260 miles of county roadway and assists townships in maintaining about 360 miles of other roadway. The office annually identifies roads most in need of resurfacing — it’s already working on determining sections for the 2022 program.
“We inventory them, we have numbers that rate their condition, and we prioritize,” said Franklin County Engineer Cornell Robertson. “… It’s an ongoing cycle.”
This year’s resurfacing program will include more than 3 miles of Hayes Road in southwestern Franklin County, from Lithopolis to Pontius roads; about 2.4 miles of Reynoldsburg-new Albany Road from Rovilla Road south to the old village of Blacklick in the northeastern part of the county; and about 2 miles of Scioto Darby Creek Road from Langton Road to the Madison County line in the northwestern part of the county.
Robertson said traffic generally will be maintained during the resurfacing work, with lane restrictions at times.
“There will be inconvenience and delays to the travel time, but for the most part, resurfacing projects can be done under maintenance of traffic,” he said.
Other county roads slated for repaving this year, in alphabetical order, include:
• Alton Darby Creek Road at Feder Road in western Franklin County.
• Dellinger Road, between Hubbard and Amity roads, in western Franklin County.
• Hilliard Rome Road, between West Broad Street and Smith Road, County.
• Lukens Road, between Knopp and Norton roads, in southwestern Franklin County.
• Noe Bixby Road, between Crosscreek and Hatfield drives, in southeastern Franklin County.
• Haughn Road at Orders Road in southwestern Franklin County.
• Orders Road at Route 62 in southwestern Franklin County.
• Richardson Road at Groveport and London-lancaster roads in southeastern Franklin County.
• Roberts Road at Walker Road in western Franklin County.
• Walnut Street, between Cubbage and Harlem roads, in northeastern Franklin County.
• Winchester Pike between Schwartz and Hamilton roads in southeastern Franklin County.
The resurfacing plans are in addition to other road and bridge construction projects, including $2.6 million in improvements to the Refugee Road bridge over Big Walnut Creek. Robertson said the work will include widening to accommodate a shared-use path on the north side of the road.
“That will fill a gap in the existing pedestrian system out there,” Robertson said. “Today, there’s a shared-used path to the west of that bridge, and our project is going to get it across the bridge and we’re going to continue building along the north side of Refugee to get over to the intersection of Refugee, Chatterton and Noe Bixby (roads).”
Other projects slated for construction this summer include nearly $2.3 million in drainage and other improvements to Groveport, Toy, Swisher and Saltzgaber roads in Groveport and Madison Township; $595,000 widening and drainage improvement to Eureka Avenue, Valley View Drive, Highland Avenue and Harper Road in the village of Valleyview; and about $340,000 in drainage improvements to Ormond Avenue between Walford Street and Cleveland Avenue. mkovac@dispatch.com @Ohiocapitalblog