Commissioners OK going out to bid to replace 3 bridges, resurface 2 roads

The Lorain County commissioners on Tuesday gave the county Engineer's Office permission to advertise for bids to replace three bridges and resurface two roads. "Public convenience and welfare" requires that the Griggs Road bridge in Rochester; the Bursley Road Bridge between state Route 511 and Quarry Road in Rochester Township; and the Hawley Road Bridge in Wellington Township be replaced, according to the board's agenda. Chestnut Ridge Road in Eaton Township and East River Road in Carlisle Township also will be resurfaced next year. The Bursley Road Bridge is located approximately ½ mile east of Route 511. The estimated cost of the replacement is $1.1 million, 100 percent of which will be paid with a grant from the Federal Highway Administration or FHA, according to the engineer's office. The bridge was closed in April after an inspection and computerized load-rating testing revealed it wasn't safe for it to stay open. The bridge already had been scheduled for replacement in 2026, the engineer's office said at the time. The Hawley Road Bridge is just over three-fifths of a mile north of Route 18. It will be replaced at an estimated cost of just under $1.1 million, 95 percent of which is funded by an FHA grant. The Griggs Road bridge project is estimated to cost just under $600,000, with a 90 percent/10 percent federal/local funding split. Assistant County Engineer Robert Klaiber said all the projects have gone through the federal review process and are ready to bid. Funding passes from the FHA down to the Ohio Department of Transportation down through the County Engineer's Association of Ohio, or CEAO, he said. Federal and state funding typically covers 80 percent of the cost of eligible projects, with the county paying the remaining 20 percent from permissive taxes like the additional $5 tax imposed by the Board of Commissioners in May. East River Road, from Chestnut Ridge Road to Elyria's southern city limits, will be resurfaced at an approximate cost of $1.1 million with 80 percent paid by a grant from the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency, or NOACA, according to the engineer's office. Chestnut Ridge Road in Eaton Township will be resurfaced at an estimated cost of $616,000 with an 80 percent federal/20 percent local split, according to the engineer's office. In other business, the Lorain County Adult Probation Department received an additional $183,686 in grants through the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction for community corrections. Director JoEllen Mitchell said her department hit all of its grant standards compared to other counties and did well on a recent audit. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.