LISBON Canton company hired for waterline project

The 2-mile waterline will replace wells used by Beaver schools.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
LISBON -- Work on a waterline that will serve Beaver schools and, eventually, Beaver Creek State Park is expected to begin in about two weeks.
Columbiana County Commissioners agreed Wednesday to hire Bitzel Excavating Inc. of Canton to lay the waterline. The company will be paid $417,290 for the work.
Total cost of the job is about $550,000, which includes engineering.
Financing: The undertaking, which will take about 45 days to complete, is being funded with federal, state, county and school district money.
About 2 miles of waterline will be installed. The new line will tap into county waterlines near the intersection of state Routes 7 and 11 and extend north along state Route 7 to Beaver high school and middle school, which are near one another in Madison Township.
The line is being made large enough so that it can eventually supply nearby Beaver Creek State Park.
The park currently relies on well water. But officials there have said they would like to have waterlines bring in water.
Beaver school officials have said they need the waterlines to replace the district's wells. Wells are not as reliable as municipal systems and are expensive to maintain, school officials say.
The school district is funding about half the project with a nearly $265,000 tap-in fee.
Road study: In other business, commissioners authorized county Engineer Bert Dawson to apply for a nearly $17,500 grant to pay for a study examining hazards along county roads.
Hazards could include missing or damaged guardrails, and trees, rocks or terrain that could obscure a motorist's vision.
The county could use the study as a tool to remedy roadside problems.
Commissioners are asking the Ohio Department of Transportation to consider lowering the 55 mph speed limit on parts of some county roads.
If ODOT decides to lower the limit, the agency also will decide at what speed to set it.
Commissioners said the 55 mph limit on some road sections is unsafe, given their layout and the presence of surrounding businesses and homes.
The road sections being examined are Y & amp; O Road in Madison Township between County Airport Road and the township line; Calcutta Smith Ferry Road in St. Clair Township, east of its intersection with East Liverpool Road; and Georgetown Road in Perry Township between state Route 45 and Salem city limits.