ODOT to help foot bill for railings for U.S. Route 224 bridge

ODOT will begin the work in the spring.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Village leaders may get more aesthetically pleasing railings on the soon-to-be rebuilt U.S. Route 224 bridge after all.
The idea to purchase the more expense railings had been set aside because the village could not raise the funds to cover the cost. The village finance committee examined the issue in October and decided it would not have been a good idea to spend the money with taxpayers set to vote on an operating levy shortly thereafter.
Now, the Ohio Department of Transportation has agreed to pick up $118,000 of the original $168,000 cost. The county has agreed to pay the remaining $50,000.
ODOT will begin replacement work on the bridge in the spring because of safety concerns. The bridge replacement cost on a standard bridge is covered entirely ODOT, but ODOT had agreed to certain aesthetic changes if the village was going to pick up the tab on any additional cost.
Mayor Ruth Wilkes said the structure should be replaced with a more aesthetically pleasing bridge. The fancier railings, she said, would be similar to those found on the nearby state Route 170 bridge.
Important to residents
Wilkes said many village residents think it is important that the bridge have the added curb appeal created by the upgraded railings.
Randy Partika, bridge engineer for the Mahoning County Engineer's Office, said the mayor will get her wish with additional funding from ODOT. He said ODOT had some additional funds available for aesthetics and $118,000 was made available to the 224 bridge project.
Partika said the county was committed to $50,000 for the railings before ODOT decided to pick up the other $118,000. He said the county will pay the entire $50,000 in about a month, but an agreement is being worked out to possibly split the cost three ways.
"We are committed to the $50,000. We had it in the budget and we are committed to that even if nothing is worked out with Poland Village as far as splitting the cost," he said.
According to the mayor's report from a recent council meeting, a potential agreement would split the cost between the county, the village and the Green Team, the county's recycling division. The county would be reimbursed two-thirds of the cost at a later date.
jgoodwin@vindy.com