MOUNT VERNON – Motorists may get some relief by Thanksgiving as the contractor working on the North Sandusky Street widening project may remove the detour as early as Nov. 24 and no later than Nov. 30, according to the City of Mount Vernon.
The Ohio Department of Transportation’s five-month widening project for Route 13 had an anticipated completion date between Nov. 15 and 30 for work requiring a detour. Weather delays pushed it back a week, ODOT District Five staff told city officials.
Eclipse Co. is widening North Sandusky Street from James to Franklin streets, widening turn lanes, adding sidewalks and cutting down on the number of entry/exit drives onto the street as a safety measure. The entire road base also is being replaced.
The storm sewer system was replaced under the east, or northbound, side of the road as part of the project, city spokesperson Todd Hill said. Mount Vernon installed new water mains lines in the area. The city plans to install sanitary sewer line outside of this project’s footprint, with funding from a Community Development Block Grant.
Installation of the sidewalk on the west, or southbound, side of North Sandusky was scheduled to begin on or about Nov. 9. The traffic signal at North Sandusky and Belmont Avenue reinstallation was scheduled to start Nov. 8.
Removal of the detours and the sidewalk and traffic light installation won’t signal the end of the work. The arrival of colder temperatures requires the contractor to wait until warmer weather next spring to lay down the final coat of asphalt and add the final striping and traffic markers.
Detours weren’t always followed, Hill said. From July 7 to Nov. 4, the Police Department made 146 traffic stops for detour violations, issuing 52 citations for trucks being off the state route, Chief Robert Morgan said.
A safety study of this area in 2014 brought the traffic and safety issues of this section of North Sandusky Street to the city’s attention. Following a second study in 2017, ODOT committed funds for the current project.
When work started last summer, the project was slated to cost a little more than $2.5 million, with the city contributing $738,603.
The detour for southbound motorists began July 7. It redirected southbound traffic on State Route 13 to westbound State Route 95 at Fredericktown, southbound State Route 314 at Chesterville, and eastbound State Route 229 at Sparta into Mount Vernon. Only northbound traffic was allowed on North Sandusky Street between James and Franklin streets.
Within Mount Vernon, the city directed motorists heading south on 13 to turn north on Upper Fredericktown Road, east on Clinton Road and then south on Mansfield Avenue.
