By Rick Palsgrove
Southeast Editor
Construction will slightly alter the parade route for Groveport’s Fourth of July parade next year.
Groveport Mayor Lance Westcamp announced the revised parade route for the city’s 2017 Fourth of July parade.
The revised route is necessary due to the planned Hendron Road reconstruction project scheduled for 2017.
Westcamp said the parade will be staged at 1st Service Federal Credit Union and Groveport Zion Lutheran Church instead of at Glendening Elementary. Due to the construction, the parade will not travel down Hendron Road as it has in years past, but will start on Main Street near 1st Service Federal Credit Union and Groveport Zion Lutheran Church. The parade will begin at 11 a.m. and proceed east on Main Street and finish at the Groveport Recreation Center just as it has in the past.
Westcamp also said the annual Fourth of July kids’ parade, which has been held on the morning of the Fourth of July the past few years, will be held at 2 p.m. next year in an effort to increase participation. The kids’ parade begins at Heritage Park on Wirt Road and proceeds east to the main stage in the festival area along Wirt Road.
The Hendron Road reconstruction project includes full-depth road reconstruction of Hendron Road between Main Street and Glendening Drive/Marlowa Drive. Construction includes storm sewerage, curb and gutter, street lighting, a shared-use 8-foot asphalt path on west side of street, sidewalk on east side of street, improved drive approaches, and improved crosswalks and pedestrian devices at the Glendening intersection. It also includes construction of a 12-inch water main that will replace an older 8-inch water main from Main Street to Glendening Drive. North of Glendening Drive, a sidewalk will be constructed on the east side of the street and extend north to Cherry Blossom Drive.
The city received Ohio Public Works Commission funding for the estimated $2.1 million project with a grant of $446,713, a loan with zero percent interest of $1.3 million, and Franklin County’s expected contribution of about $240,000.
