Although road construction season is not at full tilt quite yet, the City continues to try to keep up with the degradation the miles of roads faced with the continual freeze and thaw cycle that plagues northeast Ohio. The annual road maintenance process continues.
At their March 1 meeting, City Council adopted three pieces of legislation that approved bids for the 2022 Road Maintenance Program. They accepted the bid of American Roadway Logistics for the 2022 Road Maintenance Program as the lowest and best bid for pavement marking; the bid of Crossroads Asphalt Recycling, Incorporated for the lowest and best bid for equipment and general pavement services and the bid of Set in Stone Contracting, LLC, as the lowest and best bid for concrete repairs. With these agreements in place, the City will move forward with the planning of what concrete and asphalt roads will make the list of what will become the 2022 Road Maintenance Program. Other roads will be placed on another list of repairs. “We are in the process of putting that program together. We’re getting to that final piece,” said Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz. He indicated that the lists should be finalized in a few weeks.
In the meantime, the City continues its constant effort to make the roads as safe as possible, utilizing temporary patches. According to Service Director Nick Cinquepalmi, “We are out every day patching.” According to Cinquepalmi, this year, asphalt went up $1 per ton and concrete went up $20 per yard. He said that he was told by some of the contractors that were bidding, that the City was able to get better prices, as the City was able to go to bid early, due to the fact that the budget was adopted earlier than the required March 30 deadline.
At the March 1 Streets Committee meeting, Council President Paul Marnecheck questioned whether there should be a road rating program, which took place in the past, but was not continued. He asked about getting the program updated this year or next year. The program rates all roads in the city from 10 to 1, with 10 being “new or like new condition” and 1 being “roadway nearly impassable, extensive corrective action or replacement necessary.” It lists each street, what ward in which it resides, the surface type, the total length, the year it was improved, the rating and notes. Antoskiewicz stated that he would not do it this year, but if Council wanted it, they could budget for it for next year. “I think we have a pretty good handle on it, with a color-coded listing that is currently being used.” Council requested an estimated cost, in order to make a decision. The last time the city utilized such a program was in 2016, according to Marnecheck.
By GLORIA PLEVA KACIK
Contributing Writer