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Groveport to repave Main Street
(by Rick Palsgrove, Southeast Editor - August 19, 2010)
The repaving of Groveport's west Main Street from College Street to State Route 317, which faced some citizen opposition this summer, is on schedule to proceed.
The project is expected to begin the week of Sept. 20, according to Groveport village officials.
The repaving will be done by Strawser Paving Company, Inc., which bid $168,210 to do the work. The village of Groveport will use funds available from Franklin County license plate fee funds for the project.
The brick crosswalks on Main Street in this area are expected to be removed and paved over as part of the project. On July 5, the Groveport Heritage and Preservation Society (GHPS), while not against repaving the street, presented petitions to village officials containing more than 500 signatures in opposition to removing and paving over the brick crosswalks. The GHPS believes the brick crosswalks give the village a distinctive and attractive aesthetic appeal.
Groveport Village Council approved, by a 4-2 vote on July 5, an ordinance authorizing bids on the project to proceed. Council members Jean Ann Hilbert, Donna Drury, Ed Dildine, and Jan Stoots voted to enact the emergency legislation and Ed Rarey and Shawn Cleary opposed it.
The brick crosswalks were installed in 1992. Village officials said the brick crosswalks have held up poorly to weather, traffic, and snowplow wear and tear. Officials said the cost to fix the crosswalks alone could cost up to $250,000. Village Administrator Steve Morris said the village could consider installing more affordable imitation bricks at the crosswalks at a future date.
GHPS member Dave Gale maintains that not all of the brick crosswalks are in poor shape and a schedule could be created to fix the crosswalks as needed.
Public Works Superintendent Dennis Moore said it's not the bricks that are breaking down, but the concrete "trough" they sit in, which is subject to weakening due to freezing and thawing. He said his workers have patched and tried to maintain the brick crosswalks over the years. He said to fix the crosswalks' deterioration would require a complete reconstruction.
Moore said there are about 16 imitation brick options the village could consider using in the future to replace the current brick crosswalks. He said these options would have to be studied to see which would be the most durable.
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