Rosehill Road in Reynoldsburg will get some long-awaited TLC after grant funding makes a $6.35 million widening and resurfacing project possible in 2009.
According to Steven DeBolt, Reynoldsburg’s safety/service director, the Rosehill Road reconstruction project will involve reconstructing and widening the existing two-lane section of roadway into a three-lane roadway between East Main Street and Rosedale Avenue.
The project will include the installation of curbs and gutters, as well as an enclosed storm drainage system to manage and improve an on-going storm drainage problem in the area.
"It’s good for the city to know we can start the new year with a project like this," DeBolt commented.
Best of all, DeBolt noted, the city is responsible for paying for only a small portion of the project. The Ohio Public Works Commission awarded the city $5.6 million in funding for the project, which includes a grant for $4.12 million and a zero-percent interest loan for $1.48 million. An additional contribution of $750,00 from the Franklin County Engineer’s Office will pay for the remainder of the project.
DeBolt said the city has applied for grants for this project three times since 1997, and was denied twice.
"It’s a competitive process," he said. "Twice in the last 10 years we tried and did not get it."
Thanks to a team effort between Reynoldsburg City Council, Franklin County, EMH&T engineers and various city departments, the grant application was finally successful, DeBolt noted. But what may have made the biggest difference in receiving the grant funding is community support for the project, he continued.
"We had two public hearings for (the project), and the residents came out to show their support," DeBolt said. "They wrote letters of support, which we included in the grant application. It showed them there was support from the residents."
Detailed designs for Rosehill Road call for streetlights, sidewalks and possibly a multi-use leisure path to be added between East Main Street and Rosedale Avenue, DeBolt said. In addition, small sections of water lines and sanitary sewer lines will be replaced.
"We’re going to make it a more neighborhood friendly area," DeBolt explained, noting the widening is sorely needed. "Rosehill is a collector street – it gets a lot of traffic and a lot of congestion."
Rosehill is also a corridor for two schools, and that will also be taken into consideration.
"We want to have better access for students," he continued.
As part of the project, Rosehill Road, between East Main Street and East Livingston Avenue, will be milled to an appropriate depth and overlaid with a new asphalt surface. Curbs and gutter will be reconstructed along the length of this section of roadway, DeBolt said, and the storm sewer infrastructure will be maintained.
The city of Reynoldsburg has also applied for an additional $300,000 Community Development Block Grant for the Rosehill Road project. DeBolt said the city should know whether funding is awarded within the next few months, and any grant monies received would be applied toward the $1.48 million zero-interest loan for the project.
"It would reduce our cost on the overall project by getting the other grant."
Engineering for the project will be conducted this year, and construction will occur from March through November 2009.
Reynoldsburg is also planning to make other road improvements in 2008. At the Jan. 8 meeting of the Reynoldsburg City Council Safety Committee, the committee recommended approving funding for engineering costs associated with the 2008 street program.
DeBolt urged council to approve funding quickly due to the rising costs of asphalt and oil, as well as the fact that the city combined a street program with the Ohio Department of Transportation in order to get better bids.
"We’d like to hopefully get this project to bid as soon as possible," DeBolt told the committee.
Roads scheduled for improvements include: Brice Road from Main Street north to the city limits, $62,000; Bridgestone Drive from Rodebaugh Road to Daugherty Drive, $52,000; Timbermill Way from Brice Road to Needlewood Lane, $152,000; Laird Avenue from Ives Avenue to Hammond Road, $61,000; Hammond Drive from Clymer to Laird Avenue, $47,000; Clymer Drive from Hentz Drive to Hammond Road, $98,000; and Dawn Drive from Kingsley Drive to Glencrest Drive, $63,000. Improvements may include milling, placing asphalt, spot curb replacement, curb ramp replacement, pavement markings, seeding, restoration and full-depth pavement repair.
