Grant funding sought for road repairs

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During last week’s meeting of the Delaware City Council, members voted to approve a resolution authorizing City Manager Tom Homan to apply for grant funding from the Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) for the pavement resurfacing of Pennsylvania Avenue and a portion of Pittsburgh Drive.

The OPWC grant funding requested totals $450,000, and a second resolution was passed that enters the city into a cooperative agreement with Delaware County for the county to provide $150,000 in matching funds.

If the grant funding is approved by the OPWC, the entire 6,900 feet of Pennsylvania Avenue from Grandview Avenue and Hickory Lane to North Sandusky Street would be repaved, as would approximately 4,380 feet of road surface on Pittsburgh Drive from South Section Line Road to South Houk Road.

The preliminary costs of the entire project are estimated to be $1.2 million, meaning the city would be required to contribute the remaining $600,000.

Delaware Public Works Director Bill Ferrigno said the city applies yearly for OPWC funding for the city’s roads, and it has been awarded funding each year. He added that while there are roads throughout the city in worse shape than Pennsylvania Avenue and Pittsburgh Drive, those two roads carry the level of traffic volume the OPWC is often looking for when awarding grant funding.

Ferrigno went on to say the city will push its construction season for the project out by about eight months from when it typically goes to construction on a project.

“The way the program works now is we’re unable to let our contractors start until sometime until mid to late July,” he said. “That always forces this work into the beginning of the school season. And this particular case, because it’s Pennsylvania Avenue, potentially right into the fair season.

“So, we’re going to push the construction back until spring of 2024, about eight months, which lets us actually start work a lot earlier (in the year) and hopefully be completed before school is back in session in 2024.”

The pushing back of the construction period outside of the school season was welcome news to Mayor Carolyn Riggle, who thanked Ferrigno during the meeting for making it happen. “I’ve been asking this for probably 16 years, so I appreciate that it’s finally going to happen,” she said.

Pictured is a section of Pennsylvania Avenue where it intersects with North Liberty Street in Delaware.
https://www.delgazette.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/40/2022/10/web1_PennLiberty.jpgPictured is a section of Pennsylvania Avenue where it intersects with North Liberty Street in Delaware. Joshua Keeran | The Gazette

By Dillon Davis

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Reach Dillon Davis at 740-413-0904. Follow him on Twitter @DillonDavis56.

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