Patience is a virtue and for Truro Township it paid off in over $300,000 in Ohio Public Works Commission (OPWC) grant funding to revive aging roads.
After four failed attempts to obtain help from the state, the township is finally moving ahead with a project to grind down 10 roads and cap them with one and a half to three inches of asphalt. The $302,341 OPWC grant is funding work on Olivette, Quincy, Renfro, Rodebaugh, and Ronda roads; Parkline Drive East and West; Silverton and Talbert drives; and Tuxworth Court.
Work has already started on curbs and gutters and Truro Township Administrator Bob Stapleton said the township, which is kicking in 10 percent of the cost, expects the project to wrap-up in November.
"Reynoldsburg is sharing the cost for their portion of the project," added Stapleton.
Approximately 25 percent of the work on Rodebaugh Road, from Brightstone Drive to Waggoner Road, is in the city.
On Sept. 8, Truro Township trustees held an emergency meeting to discuss additional in-depth repaving on Rodebaugh Road and approved $40,000 for the work. The cost for 500 square yards of repaving is in addition to the OPWC project contribution.
Rodebaugh Road was also the focus of a discussion between Joe Ridgeway and trustees during an Oct. 8 meeting. Ridgeway presented a list of potential traffic-calming methods to prevent motorists from speeding up and down the roadway.
He told the trustees installing a speed bump could pose a hazard and leaves the township open to a lawsuit, but a speed hump or speed table, along with a change in striping, are better alternatives.
Ridgeway said the speed table has a flat section in the middle and is better for emergency vehicles and school buses.
In discussing a Blacklick Ridge Boulevard. project, Ridgeway said his firm "tried to make the road look narrower by painting stripes to psychologically make people go slower" in addition to installing a portable speed hump at a cost of approximately $5,000.
"I like to see the markings because it gives motorists a different impression," continued Ridgeway, "but you really have to think about what you’re doing and what you want. You take a chance when you do anything. You have to be really, really sure this is something you want to do."
Other Truro news
•Truro Fire Chief Jerry Foltz said his department used money donated by an Eagles organization to purchase $11,000 in professional equipment from a closed World Gym for only $3,400. The fire department is also saving $1,000 a year by making a change in emergency service protocol.
•Road Department Superintendent Stan Knoderer reported several large tree limbs and a number of smaller ones from trees along the perimeter of Silent Home Cemetery were lost due to the Sept. 14 windstorm. Seventeen truckloads of storm debris were collected and disposed free of charge at a Taylor Road mulch center.
