(Nov. 22, 2016)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
Five years from now, $3.5 million in federal aid will take shape as road pavement, guard rails, and bridges in Madison County.
County Engineer Bryan Dhume applied for the funding through the County Engineers Association of Ohio (COEA), which administers the grant program for the Ohio Department of Transportation.
This is the first time in recent memory the engineer’s office has applied for the federal aid. COEA ranked Madison County’s needs as seventh out of Ohio’s 88 counties.
“We were due, so to speak,” Dhume said.
Of the money awarded, $2 million will go to repaving 18 miles of rural roads in the county. The award requires a local match of 20 percent, so the county will contribute $400,000 to the $2.4 million project.
“That paving money is hard to get. It’s good news,” Dhume said.
Another $300,000 will go to new guard rails. No matching dollars are required. Dhume said he will take an inventory of the county’s guard rails next year to determine where the needs are.
Madison County also received 100 percent federal aid funding for two bridge replacements, one on Dyer Road in Pleasant Township and one on Rosedale Milford Center Road in Monroe Township. The total cost of the project is $1.2 million.
The money for all of the projects will be released in fiscal year 2022, which means work could start as early as the later half of 2021.
The federal aid is funded through the federal gas tax.
Dhume noted that another federal aid project wrapped up the week of Nov. 13. The bridge on Rosedale-Plain City Road, located east of State Route 38 in Pike Township, is now open. The bridge had been closed for 10 years.
