TOLEDO, OH (Toledo News Now) - They can be safety hazards, but for most drivers they are just a nuisance: potholes and rough roads. Now the city of Toledo is closer to fixing more problem areas.
When carry-over projects from this year are factored in, the total 2013 roadway improvement program is more than $44 million with nearly 61 lane miles, which includes a combination of city, state and federal funding. The program includes more than 22 miles of residential street repaving, worth $10.5 million.
The total funding for these projects is finite, and the administration does not have the ability to go over the bottom line shown unless additional money is borrowed, which the administration says it is not prepared to do.
Most projects are spread out in all six council districts. The preliminary list includes projects that will be completed in 2013, but were funded in earlier years. Residential streets cannot simply be added to the list, but can be proposed to be substituted with another, as long as the dollar value of the projects remains the same.
One of the major road repair projects the city is planning for is rebuilding Secor Road between Central Avenue and Monroe Street. Construction will start in the spring and last until November. Another major project is Collingwood Boulevard, which will be rebuilt between Monroe and Central.
"The Collingwood project is going to be a two-year project. It's going to start in 2013, but won't finish until 2014. [It's] a lengthier, more complicated project," said Robin Whitney, with Toledo's engineering services.
More than 30 residential streets will also be repaved to help smooth over ongoing concerns about road conditions. Whitney says those streets have been analyzed to assure the streets most needing repair are targeted.
"We really have more need than we have funds for but we've done a lot of things last year that help us really approach the ones that we think have the most need. We had meetings last year in the council districts and invited people to tell us, 'What streets are you concerned about?'" said Robin Whitney.
The proposed list of road repairs will be included in the capital improvements budget to be presented to City Council next week. The program will still need council's approval.
