MOUNT VERNON – The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) awarded Mount Vernon $2 million in its Small City Program to fund a complete rebuild of a section of Edgewood Road.
The award was part of the $16.9 million ODOT will provide to 10 municipalities in 9 counties for major roadway reconstruction or maintenance projects. ODOT will provide up to 95% of the eligible costs for construction and construction inspection only, according to an ODOT press release.
City Engineer Brian Ball confirmed the project will be for the section of Edgewood Road from Gambier Road to E. High Street. It includes curb/gutter, storm sewer, water main replacement, sanitary replacement, and a shared-use path.
“We will be completely replacing all of the utilities. We’ll be installing curbs, gutters storm systems and a sidewalk on the west side,” he told the Mount Vernon News.
But local residents shouldn’t be looking for road construction signs anytime soon. ODOT said the funding will be provided in fiscal year 2028. Ball said the city expects to put out a request for bid proposals in January 2027 for the project.
“The idea is we’ll reshape the road and make it smoother and make the approaches to the intersections a lot safer,” Ball said.
A Columbia gas line is laying in the ditch and the city can’t clean out the ditches as a result. They will partner in the project and install all new gas lines, he said. Every utility out there needs replacement, he said.
The waterline on Edgewood broke on Christmas Eve and its repair created 200 hours of overtime related to the break and associated ice and other problems, Ball said. Previously it broke on New Year’s Day. It has cost the city a lot of money with utilities and other problems as they try to keep the road together.
“We’ve gotten a lot of complaints and people ask us to make the road safer. The goal of the project is to improve safety and quality for our citizens,” he said.
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