(Posted May 10, 2018)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
A paving project is under way at Madison Lake. Work started May 7 and is scheduled to be complete by May 18.
The last major road improvements to the area came in 1981 when the roads were chip-sealed. This time around, hot mix asphalt is going down on Deercreek Lane, Lake Road, Park Lane, Sycamore Lane, and Wood Lane.
Darby Creek Excavating out of Circleville is doing the work for $160,200. Grant funding from the Ohio Public Works Commission is covering 85 percent of the cost. Madison County and Union Township are covering the other 15 percent.
The crew is laying two inches of asphalt over the chip-seal, said Madison County Engineer Bryan Dhume.
“This should take care of those roads for a good long while,” he said.
The paving project does not include State of Ohio Road, the road that runs from Spring Valley Road (north of Park Lane) to the Madison Lake State Park shelter house. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is responsible for maintaining that road.
Dhume said the state’s maintenance of the road could be better. He has been talking to ODOT officials about turning the road over to Union Township.
“The township and county could be more responsive” to the road’s maintenance needs, Dhume said.
While both ODOT and the township are interested in making the change, Dhume said he wants the state to make improvements to the road first, paving it and completing drainage upgrades where needed.
“That way the township wouldn’t be taking on a liability,” he said.
The current paving project also includes repairs to surface drainage at the end of Wood Lane. The county is picking up the $6,160 tab. While they are in the area, the excavating crew also is paving White Oaks Drive, north of the lake. Deercreek Township is covering that $8,530 cost.
TID board members named
On May 7, the Madison County commissioners approved the appointment of a five-member board to govern a newly formed transportation improvement district (TID).
TIDs allow public and private entities to pool financial resources and work together to seek out other funding, such as grants, to complete road improvement projects. TIDs also can issue bonds using the county bond rating.
The voting members of Madison County’s new TID governing board include: Dhume, representing the Engineer’s Office; Jeff Pfeil, a Jefferson Township trustee; Steve Lelonek, representing the financial sector; Patrick Closser, London mayor; and Darrin Lane, Plain City mayor. Board members will serve two-year terms. The seat now held by Lane will rotate every two years among representatives from Plain City, West Jefferson and Mount Sterling.
The board’s non-voting members are Rob Slane, county administrator, and David Kell, executive director of the Madison County Chamber of Commerce and Community Improvement Corporation.
“As we grow and get more involvement, the board membership will evolve,” Kell said.
Any entity in the county can come to the TID board with proposals for road or bridge projects for which they would like help with funding. Dhume has started a list of projects he could potentially submit to ODOT through the TID for funding assistance.
