MOUNT VERNON – Work continues in Mount Vernon on construction for the North Sandusky project and efforts to redirect truck traffic away from neighborhood streets.
The contractor is getting the main storm sewer on the east side of the road, city engineer Brian Ball told the Mount Vernon News. Verizon was out last week moving a fiber optic cable into the right position.
“Part of the trouble with this road is just the quality of soil under the road is pretty low,” he said.
Rather than remove the substandard soil, the contractor will bring in a piece of machinery that looks like a giant roto tiller to mix the soil with approximately 5% cement and water.
“We'll have about a foot-thick layer of soil underneath the asphalt that will be hardened by cement. That will help us to vastly increase the longevity of this section of road,” Ball said.
City officials met with Ohio Department of Transportation representatives to try to make some changes to detour signs and to message boards to get truck traffic going in the right direction and not cutting through neighborhood streets.
“The Street Department is committed to repair any damage that's happened to the neighborhood streets inside the city because of trucks making inappropriate turns,” Ball said.
A Community Development Block Grant application for the North Sandusky utility project was submitted last week. The project includes Stump Street and Northview Drive, Ball said.
“We do have our EPA permits, so the project is considered shovel-ready,” he said.
The Oak and Catherine streets project had four sections of curb and gutter completed that totaled 1,358.5 linear feet. Installation of a concrete layer on the street is next.
The concrete layer will be set up as a temporary driving surface so residents can have a break from the construction. Oak Street will be reopened for driving and parking.
Utility work north and south of the intersection follows. Crews will come back later to reinstall the bricks. Ball said the neighbors need some relief so it's easier to do things like carry their groceries into their homes.
The goal is to have the streets ready for traffic before school starts in a few weeks.
The Engineering Department made a presentation to ODOT as part of its request for $2 million for the State Route 13 relocation project from Gay and Mulberry streets over to Sandusky Street and Phillips Drive.
“That will not, under any stretch of the imagination, pay for the whole project, but it will help us get started,” Ball said.
Street Department
Brick repairs have been completed on Lamartine Street and at places where water digs have been necessary, Mayor Matt Starr told Mount Vernon News.
Crews also have rebuilt a catch basin on East Pleasant Street.
The signal upgrade at the Five Points intersection north of town was near completion last Friday. Motorists will see where crews have been painting school zones on roadways. School flashing lights will be back on soon.
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