Meander Reservoir proposal shows state is bridging gap

It isn't everything that Austintown Fire Chief Andrew Frost and others would like, but the latest proposal from the Ohio Department of Transportation for replacing the Interstate 80 bridges over Meander Reservoir is a major step in the right direction.
As Walter Duzzny, director of the Mahoning County Emergency Management Agency, observed after a recent meeting with state officials, ODOT is paying attention to local concerns. That's a good thing because unlike other state-funded transportation projects, the Meander Reservoir bridges are, first and foremost, about public health.
Given that the reservoir is the source of drinking water for 300,000 people in the Mahoning Valley, the danger of contamination must be forever on the minds of the planners. Last year, we went so far as to suggest that the "public health" imperative is directly tied to Gov. Bob Taft's homeland security initiative and argued that the state's homeland defense fund could be a source of money to help finance the construction of the bridges.
We offered that suggestion after ODOT officials contended that it would cost about $820,000 to add emergency lanes to the I-80 causeway that had been originally proposed. The state agency made it clear that it was not willing to commit such funds, even though the emergency lanes were identified as a top priority by Frost, Duzzny other local safety officials and officeholders.
New plan
There is no doubt that their arguments struck a nerve with the state. On Oct. 27, ODOT officials unveiled the new proposal, which calls for the construction of two three-lane bridges across the reservoir for $68 million. The original causeway plan was scrapped after the price hit nearly $100 million.
Though the two bridges will not have emergency access lanes, there will be a staging area for emergency vehicles at the west end.
In addition, ODOT is considering a traffic crossover at each end of the bridges so traffic could be diverted in the event of an accident.
Finally, in response to concerns about a chemical spill contaminating the reservoir, the state is proposing a containment system along the sides of each bridge to collect liquids that may spill from trucks.
Though Frost said he was not happy with the exclusion of access roads, he is checking the area around the proposed site of the new bridges to determine if there could be a path for emergency vehicles.
No, the chief isn't being paranoid. There have been several close calls on the bridges, which ODOT has acknowledged do not meet state standards and must be replaced. These structures were built 34 years ago.
Construction of the new bridges, to be paid for with federal dollars, is scheduled to begin in 2006 and completed in 2008.