MAHONING COUNTY Engineers set focus on fixing guardrails

The project is expected to cost up to $2 million and take up to 10 years to complete, a county official said.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Drivers should soon see construction crews doing "side jobs" along Mahoning County roads -- not secondary employment, but the repair or replacement of guardrails along the side of the road.
A study last year identified places where guardrails no longer meet state standards. Now it's time to start the long process of fixing the problem areas, said Randy Partika, bridge engineer for the Mahoning County Engineer's Office.
The study was done with money from the County Engineers Association of Ohio.
Locations: The project's first phase starts in April and will include portions of Hubbard, Stewart, Bedford and Kennedy roads in Poland Township; Four Mile Run and Raccoon roads in Austintown Township; and Raccoon and Tippecanoe roads in Canfield Township.
All together, the first phase will include just less than 1 mile of guardrail.
The county recently hired Lake Erie Construction of Norwalk, Ohio, to do the first phase at a cost of nearly $115,000. The money will come from a federal grant, Partika said.
The same grant will provide an additional $150,000 for guardrail improvements next year.
Partika said it will cost $1.5 million to $2 million to finish the job countywide.
"We don't have that kind of money in our budget to do it all at once," he said. That's why the project will be spread over eight to 10 years; the county will be on the lookout for more grants and other funding to help pay for it.
Priorities: Partika said he checked the areas cited in the survey and determined which ones should be done first. He looked for roads with a high volume of traffic and for critical areas with unguarded hazards, such as a steep drop-off near the edge of the road.
"We'll do what must be done first and take the rest as we can afford to do it," he said.
Importance: The guardrail is an important safety feature that often goes unnoticed, said Lt. Brian Girts of the Ohio State Highway Patrol's Canfield post. But when it's not up to standard, or when it's missing altogether, it can cause problems for motorists.
He said the intersection of Tippecanoe and Western Reserve roads is a frequent crash site, with drivers sliding through the stop sign and hitting the guardrail on Western Reserve. There is a house directly behind the guardrail.
"If that guardrail wasn't there, who knows how many cars would have ended up in those people's living room," Girts said.
Partika said there are still several guardrails along county roads that have old-style flared ends, which can knife through a car and cause severe injury if they are hit head-on.
Newer guardrails have "end treatments" designed to lessen vehicle damage by peeling back upon impact.
Some guardrails don't have enough posts, Partika said. State standards used to call for one post every 12 feet 6 inches, but the rule has been changed to one every 6 feet 3 inches to help stabilize guardrails in the event of a crash.
To help keep up with the problem, the county has made guardrail replacement or improvement part of its annual paving program as well, Partika said.
bjackson@vindy.com