Signs were posted on barriers near the project area early last week to give motorists a heads-up about the work and the need to find alternate routes. The truck detour will be Interstate 75 to Market Street.
Mayor Robin Oda said the full project is important to the community. “The road, sidewalks and curbs are in terrible shape, and the sections without curb lawn are dangerous for pedestrians,” she said.
“This is the major gateway into our beautiful downtown and has needed attention for many years. This project will provide updates or upgrades to all utility features above and underground,” Oda said.
Phase one construction, starting with the sewer line replacement, will stretch from downtown to Ridge Avenue and will run from July 11 through roughly November 2023 at a cost of $9.65 million. The 12-18-month phase two work will go from Ridge Avenue west to near the Interstate 75 interchange, with a projected spring 2024 start and a pre-inflation price estimate of $6.2 million.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
The project has been in planning for about 10 years, with many staff meetings, phone calls, Zoom meetings and arranging schedules with contractors and utility providers, she said.
Project contracts were awarded earlier this year to T.C. Holzen Inc. for the utility improvements project for $1,180,383 and to Double Jay Construction Inc. for $8,467,126 for the phase one reconstruction.
Although at one point the word was a portion of the street would remain open during these first 30 days, the closure of this section of road is needed, said Patrick Titterington, city service and safety director.
“We decided to have a relatively short road closure of up to 30 days (weather permitting) to do the sewer replacement work at the intersection of Cedar and Main streets. Doing so will allow us to cut a week or two out of the whole schedule,” he said.
During that time, the city also will remove the stoplight at Cedar and Main, so people get used to the change at the same time.
“Other than that closure, we anticipate no other complete closures, only lane modifications and perhaps a temporary closure when the contractor needs a short-term blockage to do something in an intersection or across the road. Again, that should only be very temporary if it happens,” Titterington said.
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Credit: JIM NOELKER
Once this first piece of work is done, the project will continue from west to east toward the downtown, he said.
“Please be patient, be kind, be courteous. It is going to be long and inconvenient for everyone, but there is no way around the necessary processes that will be taking place,” Oda said.
Key project work will include:
- Widening the roadway;
- Replacing sidewalk, curb and gutter;
- Providing a 4-foot grass strip between the roadway and the sidewalk along the corridor;
- Modifying the roadway between Adams Street and Cherry Street to provide three lanes and deeper angled parking stalls;
- Installing a raised median between Elm Street and Adams Street;
- Removing stoplights at Cherry Street and Cedar Street, and replacing them with a two-way north-south stop;
- Relocating the traffic light from Monroe Street to Oxford Street;
- Installing advanced-detection signals at all stoplights in the corridor;
- Upgrading lighting;
- Upgrading buried infrastructure where applicable (including CenterPoint gas lines);
- Burying existing overhead electric and fiber utilities between Dorset Road and Ridge Avenue.
Contact this contributing writer at nancykburr@aol.com
City of Troy’s tips for handling the West Main Street project
- Watch for postal mail bearing City of Troy logo, with info about the project in your area.
- Please continue to support local businesses. Their driveways will remain open unless coordinated with property owners.
- Take construction into account when planning drive times, and consider consolidating trips.
- Plan alternative routes. The city has road closure maps and a project portal on its website.
- Check for no-parking signs on Main Street, which will specify certain hours and dates.
- When driving, pay attention, slow down, and move over to keep yourself and workers safe.
- Please be kind to construction workers and contractors. This won’t last forever.
- Keep up to date on the project by visiting www.troyohio.gov/westmain.
- Questions can be answered by the city’s project manager, Dan Todd at mainstimprovements@primeeng.com
Source: Jill Rhoades, Troy city engineer; Lauren Karch, city communications coordinator.
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